KANCHANABURI – Eighteen tourists, including both Thai and foreign nationals, were injured on Saturday after a shunting operation went wrong at Wang Yen Railway Station in Kanchanaburi Province, causing a locomotive to crash into a stationary passenger train carriage.
The incident occurred as the passenger train, operating on the Kanchanaburi-Nam Tok line, was stationary at the Wang Yen station for a scheduled change of the locomotive that pulls the train. According to police from Mueang Kanchanaburi Provincial Police Station, the locomotive being maneuvered to connect to the passenger cars suddenly backed into the first passenger carriage with significant force.
The impact caused immediate damage to the locomotive, rendering it unable to proceed. The collision violently jarred the six passenger cars, injuring dozens of tourists aboard.
Local officials quickly arrived at the scene to provide immediate first aid to the injured. A total of 18 people were confirmed to have sustained injuries, with four of them being classified as seriously injured. All of the injured were urgently transported to Phahol Pholpayuhasena Hospital.
One tourist aboard the train, who was traveling with family from Nam Tok Station in Sai Yok District to Kanchanaburi Station, described the moment of impact.
“The train had nearly a hundred Thai and foreign tourists,” the passenger stated. “When we arrived at Wang Yen Station, we stopped to wait for the locomotive swap, which takes about 20 minutes. While we were sitting in the carriages, the car was suddenly hit with a very hard impact. Tourists in every carriage were thrown about, with some hitting their heads against the windows, causing them to break, and others falling to the floor.”
Station officials indicated that the accident was caused by a malfunction in the shunting locomotive that was being used to connect to and pull the train back to Kanchanaburi Station. As the locomotive was reversing toward the stationary carriages, its brakes reportedly failed, causing it to slam into the six parked passenger cars.
Following the collision, Kanchanaburi Station coordinated to dispatch a replacement locomotive to the scene. This engine was used to switch out the damaged locomotive and tow all six passenger carriages, along with the remaining uninjured passengers, back to Kanchanaburi Station.
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