Suspended trains found fit for service

       Checks by the State Railway of Thailand have found 14 trains declared unfit for service by the railway union and suspended from service yesterday are in normal working condition.
       SRT governor Yuthana Thapcharoen yesterday said engineers and other technical experts who were sent to check the condition of the locomotives found them in working order.
       Mr Yuthana said all the train routes affected by the stoppages had been ordered to resume their services today.
       Unionists abruptly brought to a halt services on 10 southern and four northeastern routes yesterday, citing the need to repair the trains.
       They said they feared a repeat of the derailment in Prachuap Khiri Khan on Oct 5 at Khao Tao station which left seven people dead and 88 injured. The driver of the ill-fated train was fired.
       The suspension of services left thousands of passengers stranded at several stations in the southern provinces. Those left waiting blasted the SRT and its union for not issuing a warning about the planned stoppages.
       Among the hardest hit were the Hat Yai-Sungai Kolok and the Hat Yai-Chumphon routes in the South.
       On the northeastern line, the Nakhon Ratchasima-Ubon Ratchathani, Kaeng Khoi-Khon Kaen and the Kaeng Khoi-Bua Yai routes were affected.
       In Bangkok, a Bangkok-Chiang Mai train which left at 6pm from Hua Lamphong station was stopped at the Bang Sue station and could not continue its journey until 9pm.
       Seven more general freight and oil trains from Nakhon Sawan to other provinces also stopped operating after the drivers claimed they were concerned about the state of the locomotives which they described as "unfit" for service.The union could not say when the repairs to the locomotives would be completed.
       The union has demanded the resignation of the SRT governor, blaming his inefficient management for the problems at the SRT.