Yellow Line’s wheel deal: MRT mishap takes a detour, hits taxi, driver escapes unscathed near Bangkok

After the MRT Pink Line mishap a week ago, another train accident was reported yesterday when the wheel of an MRT Yellow Line carriage fell off and hit a taxi on Thepharak Road in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok. Fortunately, the driver escaped any injury.

Samrong Nuea Police Station officers received a report of the accident at 6.30pm yesterday, January 2, and rushed to investigate the scene. The taxi car, a yellow and green Toyota Altis, was seen parked 100 metres away from the Si Thepha MRT Station. Its bonnet bore the damage from the spiralling wheel, which was found 20 metres away from the car.

Fortunately, the taxi driver, 73 year old Wirat Khumsub, was not injured in the accident. Wirat told police that he and his passenger were travelling to Thepharak district in Samut Prakarn province when the wheel collided with his car.

Wirat said he was shocked and startled but pulled himself together and gradually parked the car in the left lane. He went out to check what had hit his vehicle and found it was the monorail wheel, so he hurried to report it to the police.

The MRT Yellow Line monorail managed to enter the Si Thepha Station after losing the wheel, and there were no reports of injuries to passengers.

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRT) Executive Director Surapong Piyachote visited the scene at 8pm and paid Wirat 5,000 baht in compensation. Further compensation would be processed according to the law.

Wheel bearing failure

Suriya explained that the cause of the falling wheel could be a wheel bearing failure but a thorough investigation would be carried out to find the real cause of the accident.

Suriya explained that the only punishment for the MRT service provider under the contract was to cease operations. There was no mention of a fine or other penalties in the contract. However, the relevant department would discuss the matter to prevent such accidents in the future.

This incident occurred only a week after the collapse of the MRT Pink Line track in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. The collapsed track damaged three vehicles parked underneath the train and also toppled the power line, causing the high-voltage power to become unbalanced. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The MRT Yellow Line is a newly opened elevated monorail connecting Bangkok with Samut Prakarn province. The line has 23 stations and officially opened in July last year. It connects with the MRT Blue Line at Lat Phrao Station and with the Airport Rail Link at Hua Mak Station.