A METAL rail of the new MRT Pink Line stretching hundreds of metres detached from the overhead track and fell to the ground damaging three vehicles parked beneath and snapping an electric pole in front of the Royal Irrigation Department market on Tiwanon road, Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi province, before dawn today (Dec. 5) but fortunately there were no injuries, Matichon newspaper said.
Upon being informed of the accident at 5 a.m., a police team from Pak Kret station rushed there after alerting electricity and train officials to investigate.
At the scene it was found that hundreds of metres of the metal rail, around four inches wide and two inches thick, had detached from anchor points on the overhead track and fell to the ground, hitting three vehicles parked close to the centre of the road.
One of them, a bronze sedan, was smashed at the rear with the windshield shattering and left wing mirror falling off.
In addition the detached rail had also hit a high-voltage electric pole snapping it to the point of almost breaking into two as it leaned on the road.
Preliminary inspection found that metal rail had detached all the way to Khae Rai intersection but most of it had not yet dropped down.
An electric train had stopped in front of Tiwanon Soi 25 with the metal rails still holding the wheels but close to falling off at any moment.
Pol. Maj. Thapananong Phuengmee, an inspector at Pak Kret police station, said it was fortunate no one got injured in this accident and it is expected that the traffic will be closed till noon to see how the situation pans out.
Later Metropolitan Electricity Authority and Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc sent around 10 cranes to repair the track.
The 34.5-kilometre-long Pink Line Skytrain, which runs from Khae Rai to Min Buri and has 30 stations, was opened for free public trial run from Nov. 21 till Dec. 17, 2023.
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Scenes of the pre-dawn MRT Pink Line rail accident. Photos: Matichon
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