Service on the Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT) Yellow Line was suspended from Thursday morning until midnight after some parts fell from the track in an accident that damaged several vehicles, with no injuries reported.
Eastern Bangkok Monorail Co Ltd, which operates the driverless train, said parts of the conductor rail had dropped from the track between the Kalantan and Si Udom stations.
At least 12 vehicles — nine cars and three motorcycles — were found damaged by the falling rail parts.
Social media channels of the Yellow Line announced only that the service had to be suspended at all stations as the company is trying to address “a problem”. The Ministry of Transport subsequently ordered the service suspended until midnight, according to local media reports.
The suspension began before 9am as commuters were using the line to get to work during rush hour. A train was ordered to stop between the stations, and staff were seen helping passengers to evacuate from the cars by walking along the track.
Some passengers took the opportunity to capture photos and videos during the unusual experience of walking along the track.
Images of some fallen parts were also posted on social media.
The Yellow Line monorail runs between Lat Phrao and Samrong. The service started in July last year.
Thursday’s incident was the second mishap on the monorail system, from which a wheel tumbled on Jan 2 and struck a taxi on the road below.
That led to an order for the ball-bearings on the wheels of all Yellow Line trains to be replaced to ensure public safety.
The January incident came just a week after a section of conductor rail on the Pink Line monorail broke free from its beam and fell onto a street, damaging several parked cars parked along Tiwanon Road in Nonthaburi.
The Pink Line operator is Northern Bangkok Monorail Co. The company and Eastern Bangkok Monorail are subsidiaries of BSR JV Consortium, a joint venture between three giant SET-listed companies: BTS Group Holdings, with a 75% shareholding; Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction, and Ratch Group, a major power producer.
A person holds a piece of track equipment that fell from the Yellow Line on Thursday, forcing a halt to service. (Photo: @vissnup X account)