Drug traces found in train driver as black box shows late braking

An initial urine test has revealed that driver of the train that slammed into a passenger bus at a crossing in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon was intoxicated and that the train’s emergency braking system was activated only 100 metres before the point of impact, Pichet Kunadhamraks, director general of Rail Transport department said yesterday.

Those investigating the tragic crash, in which at least eight died and many others were injured, informed him that narcotics were detected in the urine of ‘Sayomporn’, the driver of freight train, which was travelling from Laem Chabang to Bang Sue when it struck an air-conditioned bus, several cars and motorcycles at the Asoke-Din Daeng railway crossing on Saturday afternoon.

The crash, which occurred at 3.41pm on May 16, sparked fire that engulfed the bus, burning eight passengers beyond recognition.

Makkasan police have initially charged the train driver who was injured in the accident with negligence causing death and serious injury.

Yesterday, investigators took ‘Uthen’, a rail operations employee responsible for controlling the crossing, into custody to acknowledge the same charges.

Uthen, who was also responsible for signalling trains with a flag, appeared in CCTV footage shortly before the accident. He was questioned for nearly two hours.

Police said drug tests on Uthen showed no traces of narcotics. He has declined to speak to reporters.

Pichet added that the State Railway of Thailand has ordered immediate and mandatory drug and alcohol screening for all train drivers, rail traffic controllers and staff involved in railway safety before every shift.

Moreover, Sayomporn, who had not yet received an official operating licence from the department, has been suspended from duty.

Investigators are also examining whether supervisors allowed a person under the influence of narcotics to operate a train despite being responsible for public safety.

According to Pichet, preliminary findings from the locomotive’s black box show that the freight train was travelling at about 35 kilometres per hour when it collided with the bus and that its emergency braking system was activated only about 100 metres before the impact, not enough distance in which to stop the train.

“The driver should have stopped earlier, but the braking came too late,” he said.

He noted, however, that a freight train carrying containers weighing several thousand tonnes requires nearly two kilometres to come to a complete stop because of its inertia and momentum, making it impossible to stop within only 100 metres.

He confirmed that the railway signalling system was functioning normally, but the crossing barrier failed to fully lower as intended. He said the train driver should still have applied the brakes sooner.