The Thailand Consumers Council has called for urgent inspections of the entire operational system of the Yellow and Pink train lines, following separate recent accidents.
On its Facebook page, the council expressed doubts over the causes of the incidents, as both lines have only recently opened for public service.
“We believe that the accidents may have been caused by mistakes in the setup, as the lines are very new,” the council stated.
The Pink Line opened for service on November 21 last year and, about a month later, its conductor rail collapsed onto Tiwanon Road in Nonthaburi province.
No one was killed or injured, but three cars parked under the elevated track were damaged. The accident prompted the suspension of services from the Nonthaburi Civic Centre to the Pak Kret bypass station.
On January 2, a tyre fell off a Yellow Line monorail train and hit a taxi below, on Thepharak Road in Samut Prakan province. No one was injured.
Chalie Charoenlarpnopparut, a council sub-committee member on transport and vehicles, said that he has found no records of collapsing conductor rails or wheels falling off monorails in any other country. Therefore, these incidents are happening in Thailand for the first time, he said.
