Pink Line back on track: Monorail bounces back from holiday disaster

The Pink Line monorail, which suffered a dramatic collapse on Christmas Eve, resumes service tomorrow, February 1.

Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote, after a meticulous inspection yesterday, announced that the Pink Line’s developer and operator, North Bangkok Monorail Co, has pulled off a miraculous recovery.

“The conductor rail has been restored to its former glory, and the entire line has aced a comprehensive test.”

Flashback to the early hours of December 24 last year, when chaos ensued as a 5-kilometre stretch of the conductor rail crashed down from the Pink Line’s elevated structure. The calamity unfolded from the Central Chest Institute of Thailand near the Khae Rai station to a pocket track near the Royal Irrigation Department station, mercilessly colliding with parked vehicles on Tiwanon Road.

After intense scrutiny, officials pinpointed the cause: cranes lifting sheet piles accidentally dislodged the conductor rail. The final blow came when an empty monorail on a test run yanked the rail down just moments before the trial service was scheduled to kick off at 6am, reported Bangkok Post.

Now the 34-kilometre-long Pink Line, connecting Min Buri to Nonthaburi Civic Center, is ready to continue with operations.

In related news, the Pink Line monorail prolonged its complimentary service till January 6 as it continued with the repair of its conductor rail. This extension followed an inspection led by Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote, who visited the ongoing work from Chaeng Wattana-Pak Kret 28 Station (PK08) to Nonthaburi Civic Centre Station (PK01). The intent was to ready the Pink Line for full commercial operations and to monitor the progress of the conductor rail’s repair.

In other news, defective Yellow Line monorail trains were recalled and operations halted on January 3 as they underwent comprehensive safety checks, according to Surapong Piyachote, the Deputy Transport Minister. The operator of the Yellow Line, Eastern Bangkok Monorail Co, was instructed to conduct intensive safety inspections on all trains before reinstating them into service.