PM and Police Chief Inspect Fatal Train-Bus Crash in Bangkok, Now Traffic Resumes

Brickinfo News Agency – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and National Police Chief Gen. Kitrat Phanphet rushed to the scene of a fatal collision where a cargo train collided with a public bus at the Asoke-Din Daeng intersection, ordering an immediate investigation and swift victim compensation before officials successfully reopened the road to normal traffic. The crash, which involved a Laem Chabang-Bang Sue cargo train and a Route 206 bus near the Makkasan Airport Rail Link station, triggered a fire that killed eight people instantly and injured 30 others.

Following the incident, Police Chief Gen. Kitrat Phanphet arrived at the site to oversee traffic management and coordination with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to clear the road. He ordered legal action against both drivers for negligence causing death, noting that CCTV footage clearly showed the bus parked directly over the tracks. Investigators are currently focusing on three main factors—distance, speed, and timing—to determine whether the train driver exercised sufficient caution, while also looking into whether the railway barrier operator properly alerted traffic police.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation confirmed that both the bus driver, Laphit Thongbun, and the conductor, Supaporn Chansorn, survived the crash but are undergoing treatment for burn injuries, while the train driver sustained head injuries. Police have detained both drivers and the railway barrier operator for formal questioning. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul later inspected the scene, expressing condolences and ordering full medical support for the injured to prevent further casualties, alongside expedited identification processes so families can claim the deceased for religious rites.

After reviewing video footage of the accident, the Prime Minister questioned the operational safety gap of the transit systems involved.

“In a distance of nearly one kilometer, why was there no warning issued, and why did the train not slow down?” Anutin stated, adding that no vehicle should ever park across railway tracks during heavy traffic, and that the facts must be verified to upgrade safety measures for both the State Railway of Thailand and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority.

The State Railway of Thailand, alongside the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, deployed heavy cranes to remove the damaged locomotive and cargo containers from the intersection. After clearing concrete fragments and thoroughly cleaning the road surface, emergency workers managed to completely clear all obstacles and officially reopened the intersection to normal traffic ahead of schedule.