Rail passenger traffic rises over two-day holiday, data shows
The number of people travelling by train – including Bangkok’s sky train and subway, as well as inter-provincial routes – neared 2 million on May 4 and 5, the Department of Rail Transport reported.
Thursday and Friday were holidays celebrating the coronation of King Rama X.
Passenger traffic rose more than 2.5% during the two days, said Pichet Kunadhamraks, director-general of the department.
He said the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) carried 122,873 passengers over the two days.
The SRT’s Southern line had the highest number of passengers (46,755), followed by the Northeast line (30,372), the North line (21,204), and the East line (15,929).
Pichet said that another 8,613 people travelled on the Mahachai-Maeklong route.
In Bangkok, 1,779,354 people used trains during the two-day holiday, Pichet said.
The Bangkok Mass Transit System had 1,111,619 passengers on the two days, followed by the Metropolitan Rapid Transit system (542,609), and the Airport Rail Link (97,535).
Two minor accidents were reported on Friday: one on the SRT’s Northeast line and the other on the Airport Rail Link.
A man suffered a broken arm after being clipped by a train at Bang Pa-in station in Ayutthaya.
The brakes malfunctioned on a train arriving at the Airport Rail Link’s Lat Krabang station, but were quickly repaired and the train resumed normal operations, he said.
The Department of Rail Transport wants to assure the public that train transportation is safe, Pichet said. All drivers are tested for alcohol and sniffer dogs inspect passengers’ bags, he explained.
