The State Railway of Thailand Electric Train Co has assured the public that its Airport Rail Link is safe, after a former Bangkok deputy governor said there is a lack of regular maintenance on the line which has resulted in weak spots along the track.
State Railway of Thailand Electric Train Co (SRTET) deputy director-general Suthep Panpeng said yesterday the information given by former Bangkok governor Samart Ratchapolsitte was "incorrect" and insisted his company has fixed the problems to which he referred.
According to the governor, many of the track's anchor bolts, those that keep the track in place and attached to the steel plates on which it rests, have become loose, resulting in trains having to decrease their speeds from 45 kilometres per hour to 30km and 15km respectively when passing the so-called Lat Krabang curve to avoid falling off the track.
Citing a report obtained from the SRTET's maintenance unit, Mr Samart said there were up to 159 weak spots in need of repair.
Among them, 59 were in a "critical condition", he added.
Mr Suthep admitted part of the track needs repair, but he insisted his company conducts maintenance and inspections every four months.
He said the fixtures that hold the track together are scheduled to be replaced every 10 years -- the current ones has been used for nine years.
As a result, the company launched a comprehensive maintenance drive along 28km of track in late 2015.
At the Lat Krabang curve, the company discovered around 160 trouble spots, which were repaired between December, 2015 and May last year, he said.
Later in April last year, Mr Suthep said the SRTET hired more technicians so it can carry out visual inspections every month.
Of the 160 weaknesses in the track, however, only 50 needed immediate repair, Mr Suthep said, citing the visual inspection in December last year.
"So far we've fixed all of them," Mr Suthep said. "A risk-assessment committee has checked their safety."
However, gripes over the SRTET's maintenance management approach do not stop there.
Mr Samart also has criticised the company over a lack of transparency.
On his Facebook page, Mr Samart said the SRTET's process of hiring a company to do the work was carried out under dubious circumstances.
Some SRTET executives allegedly wanted to hire a company to do the job without bidding, he wrote.
The company was accused of not having experience in electric rail track maintenance and sub-contracted another company to do the job, according to his Facebook page.
Mr Samart said the problems he posted on his Facebook page were not aimed at causing panic among passengers; he simply wants the SRTET to be more aware of the importance of maintenance work.
Mr Suthep hit back at the comments and said the company it contracted has adequate experience and for that reason won the bid to maintain the tracks.
He said the SRTET needed to hire an experienced company with expertise in repairing rail track systems, criteria which the company had fulfilled and which did not warrant its credentials being questioned.