All Railway Crossings to Get Barriers After Accident Killed 19

The wreckage of a bus that collided with a train in Chachoengsao province on Oct, 11, 2020.

BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Thailand’s Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said Tuesday that he issued an immediate order to have all railway crossings across the country, to be installed with barriers and signals.

The move came after Sunday’s fatal train-bus collision which killed 19 and injured some 30 passengers.

The accident happened as the chartered bus was carrying about 60 merit workers on their way from Thailand’s central province of Samut Prakan to perform a merit making ceremony at a temple in Chachoengsao province, also in the central region.

The bus rammed into a cargo train as it was passing over a dual track railway crossing. Seventeen passengers, including six Myanmar migrant workers, and the bus driver were killed.

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Police said the railway crossing does not have a barrier or a signal system.

“I have instructed both the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the Department of Rail Transport to find out how many of this kind of railway crossings are there without a barrier,” said the minister.

The SRT will perform a merit-making ceremony for the dead victims at the scene of the accident on the coming Sunday.