Stories tagged with train
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Floods close some railways in Thailand
Following another week of heavy rains across most of northern and central Thailand, flooding in several regions has prompted authorities to shut down a number of train lines. Particularly hard hit was the Issan region in the northeast of the country, where floods washed away sections of the train tracks around Khon Kaen.
As a result of the flooding, all train services to Nong Khai, Udon Thani, and Nakhon Ratchasmia have been stopped indefinitely until the situation eases and repairs can be made to the rail lines. Flood warnings have been issued for 29 of the provinces in northern Thailand, where heavy rains are expected to continue over the next week.
Other areas heavily affected by the floods include Ban Haed, where the Mitraparb Highway bridge was washed away, creating traffic chaos. Areas around Nakhon Ratchasima have been declared disaster zones, with several people killed and many more missing. Tak province experienced flash floods that washed away several villages, and in Petchaburi many roads are submerged, making travel impossible except by boat.
It’s hard to find a province in Thailand that isn’t presently suffering from flood damage. The flooding has caused property damage of 700 million baht, affected 750,000 rai of agriculture land and displaced some 2.7 million farm animals, according to Somsak Prissanananthakul, the Minister of Agriculture.
Posted by: Andrew on 27 Sep 2008, 09:58 -
Trains, airports shut down for 3rd day
For the third day in a row, Thailand's transportation infrastructure remained crippled as anti-government PAD protestors blocked roads leading to two southern airports and train service nationwide has ground to a halt.
Thousands of tourists and Thai nationals have found themselves stranded in Phuket and Krabi, with little option of how to return to their home countries or home towns. Hat Yai’s airport reopened on Saturday after local officials convinced PAD protestors to allow flights to resume, and Phuket and Krabi's airports look set to resume service on Sunday. Worse for travellers, however, train service across the entire country remains at a standstill for the fourth consecutive day as state railway workers continue to strike.
Transport Minister Santi Promphat directly ordered the State Railways of Thailand (SRT) to immediately meet again with its labour union and find a way to get its staff back to work. Thailand’s railway workers have been striking en masse by calling in sick out of sympathy for the Bangkok protests, which are growing more violent by the day.
The SRT was forced to suspend trains on 76 of its routes, essentially every important rail route in the country. Tourists are suffering the worst from the strike as they have no way to complete their travel plans between northern and southern Thailand. Anyone planning to travel to Thailand should reconsider their plans until the political tensions have been resolved.
Breaking news available at the Bangkok Post.
Posted by: Andrew on 31 Aug 2008, 13:56