SRT chief inspects rail tracks

BANGKOK, June 4 (TNA) - In an effort to reduce train accidents, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Governor Yuthana Thapcharoen on Monday surprised rail workers by inspecting rail tracks in the western Kanchanaburi Province bordering Myanmar himself, without giving any notice in advance. Yuthana announced after inspecting the 132-kilometre-rail tracks between Nong Pla Dook and Kanchanaburi Stations that wooden rail sleepers throughout the country will be changed into concrete in the coming years. According to the SRT chief, concrete rail sleepers have already been used on 63 kilometres of Monday's inspected route and SRT plans to first change its overall wooden sleepers into concrete over the next two years. The SRT governor said that three main causes have been found for train derailments in Thailand so far, including rail workers' failure to practice as specified by the SRT's official guidance and to regular inspections by authorities concerned, as well as poor conditions of locomotives, many of which have been in service for more than 40 years. The SRT governor said that the problems are expected to be resolved in the near future, as SRT has already been allocated a 170-billion-baht state budget on improving the rail tracks nationwide and on buying new locomotives, assessing that the problem of train derailments should be addressed to some extent within one month. Results of the rail inspection by the SRT chief and his deputies will be reported to Deputy Transport Minister Police Lieutenant General Chatt Kuldiloke next week. (TNA)