Family of Train-Bus Collision Victims Struggling to Accept Loss, Demanding Serious Solutions
Grieving families of train-bus collision victims are demanding accountability and systemic reforms from Thai Railways, criticizing the state agency's lack of responsibility and lax personnel screening that allowed drug-addicted employees to
On May 19, relatives of one victim, known as Paa Iang, collected documents from investigators at Makkasan Police Station to retrieve her body from the Police Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine for a merit-making ceremony at Naam Daeng Temple in Samut Prakan Province.
The family expressed concern about compensation amounts but remained more disturbed by the State Railway of Thailand's defensive responses about personnel management rather than offering assistance or taking responsibility. They questioned why the bus driver parked across the railway tracks and called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances.
Another victim's father, Santi Kheeowvijit, whose son Thanatphipat was on the bus just three stops away from his destination, collected documents to bring his son's body for religious ceremonies at Khlong Nueng Temple in Pathum Thani Province. He revealed that his son was only 19 years old and would have graduated next year, with dreams of becoming an app developer.
Santi criticized both the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and State Railway of Thailand for organizational failures, noting that while the transit authority showed concern and assistance, Thai Railways showed no apologies whatsoever. He severely condemned Thai Railways' lax personnel screening system that allowed drug-addicted employees to operate trains, and rejected their claims that the train was operating normally when the bus blocked the tracks—arguing that railways bear responsibility for their own personnel systems.
Santi emphasized that public transportation should be the safest system and that no compensation could ever be worthwhile for losing his young son with a promising future.
