News Forum - Thailand’s railway safety upgrade: 693 unauthorised crossings to be rerouted

[Thaiger]

In the aftermath of a tragic accident last week in Chachoengsao, where a freight train collided with a pickup truck at an unrecognised railway crossing, taking eight lives and injuring three, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) resolved to close 693 unauthorised railway crossings across Thailand. The accident took place on an unauthorised crossing, lacking … …

The story Thailand’s railway safety upgrade: 693 unauthorised crossings to be rerouted as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Guest1]

What is wrong with the authorities?

The picture in the report shows an tarmac road with proper concrete patches near the track, not a dirt road.

How can this be unauthorised, except it got build just a day before and this was the first train ever, crossing that road?

[Ramanathan.P]

Looks like most of the unmaned or ungarded crossing which the titile says "Unauthorized" is in the southern region of the country. By the way can the author verifiy for who the crossing is "Unauthorized" - Train, Vehicle, human or animals? 

[cowslip]

just another example of Thailand's almost total absence of road traffic engineering.

[McTavish]

3 hours ago, cowslip said:

just another example of Thailand's almost total absence of road traffic engineering.

Nonsense.   Above post is yet another example of your arrogant superiority complex. 

Thai road road traffic engineering may not be up to UK standards but it's better than most tropical  countries.

[Pinetree]

4 hours ago, cowslip said:

just another example of Thailand's almost total absence of road traffic engineering.

The major roads, expressways and many secondary ones, around the East, West, North  and indeed in most of Thailand are built to a higher spec than most western country's, including the US, UK and Australian. Concrete instead of tarmac, full lit, extensive use of flyovers. Thai's build on expectation of traffic volumes, not just when the roads become unusable due to excess traffic flows. 

[Marble-eye]

53 minutes ago, McTavish said:

Nonsense.   Above post is yet another example of your arrogant superiority complex. 

Thai road road traffic engineering may not be up to UK standards but it's better than most tropical  countries.

Yes, he does have a high opinion of himself.

In many ways the Thai roads are much superior to the roads in the UK with their 3 lane motorways always coned off, get on a 4 or 5 lane motorway here and they're much better built, can't same the same about the drivers though.

[palooka]

5 hours ago, cowslip said:

road traffic engineering.

What's that??????

[palooka]

 

1 hour ago, McTavish said:

Nonsense.   Above post is yet another example of your arrogant superiority complex. 

Thai road road traffic engineering may not be up to UK standards but it's better than most tropical  countries.

train collided with a pickup truck at an unrecognised railway crossing.

Did you miss this part?

[cowslip]

2 hours ago, McTavish said:

Nonsense.   Above post is yet another example of your arrogant superiority complex. 

Thai road road traffic engineering may not be up to UK standards but it's better than most tropical  countries.

It's not a complex - It would seem I really do have superior knowledge to you - I doubt if you even know what traffic engineering is (Let's see you rush to Google to cover your ignorance!).

You make irrelevant comparisons and ;lump all "tropical" countries together - clearly a racist as well as ignorant.

Edited August 15, 2023 by cowslip

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, Pinetree said:

The major roads, expressways and many secondary ones, around the East, West, North  and indeed in most of Thailand are built to a higher spec than most western country's, including the US, UK and Australian. Concrete instead of tarmac, full lit, extensive use of flyovers. Thai's build on expectation of traffic volumes, not just when the roads become unusable due to excess traffic flows. 

US has some shitty infrastructure but I wouldn't say roads is one of them, overall.....................

[Vigo]

The unauthorized crossings are the ones without lights and barriers. They are typically  intended for  service and emergency use. locals exploited the presence and pushed the envelope. 

[Guest1]

3 hours ago, Pinetree said:

The major roads, expressways and many secondary ones, around the East, West, North  and indeed in most of Thailand are built to a higher spec than most western country's, including the US, UK and Australian. Concrete instead of tarmac, full lit, extensive use of flyovers. Thai's build on expectation of traffic volumes, not just when the roads become unusable due to excess traffic flows. 

And soon after they build a real good concrete road, someone gets a brown envelope, so that the road construction company can still do the dam building, by putting tarmac in the normal timr frame over it!

Phuket had a almost perfect (exept the drain system, that expected the water to run uphill)  concrete road, from Chao Fah west to the University and to where central floresta is. After some years, they "had to" tarmac that one! ;-)

[HolyCowCm]

The picture is certainly not an unauthorized crossing. It was done by some local authority, maybe just not SRT. And furthermore, how does SRT know about how many hundreds of unauthorized crossings there are, and why haven’t they done anything about it as one would think it lays in their jurisdiction. Oh, one reason is because they’re lazy and the other reasons because they’re broke.

[Pinetree]

11 hours ago, Marc26 said:

US has some shitty infrastructure but I wouldn't say roads is one of them, overall.....................

I have driven some major roads in the US, mainly out of Denver to the mountains.  Those roads are awful, pot holed and bad cambers.  Same same LA to LV and in the Dakotas .  Yes its a bigger country with some good and some bad, but like many western countries,  bridges, over passes and lighting can be desperately bad.   I'm not picking on the US, UK is far far worse. 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

I have driven some major roads in the US, mainly out of Denver to the mountains.  Those roads are awful, pot holed and bad cambers.  Same same LA to LV and in the Dakotas .  Yes its a bigger country with some good and some bad, but like many western countries,  bridges, over passes and lighting can be desperately bad.   I'm not picking on the US, UK is far far worse. 

Yes bridges are in bad shape

 

And I was talking more about the main highways 

 

Can't think of one that is bad 

[HolyCowCm]

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

I have driven some major roads in the US, mainly out of Denver to the mountains.  Those roads are awful, pot holed and bad cambers.  Same same LA to LV and in the Dakotas .  Yes its a bigger country with some good and some bad, but like many western countries,  bridges, over passes and lighting can be desperately bad.   I'm not picking on the US, UK is far far worse. 

Mountain roads and major truck routes are ones that get torn up. With mountains there is also snow and chains on vehicles that may wear and tear and erode the road. Other places might be cities that are under funded like low income neigborhoods or gang areas or place that have a lwo population, but you would think federal highways are the best, but after just looking, a lot of the road repairs are based on gas tax and that is faliling i nthe USa as is now being addressed as a major concern.

 

Arcticle: Published by the Utah State University - The Center for Grwoth and Opportunity

https://www.thecgo.org/benchmark/us-roads-are-crumbling-but-so-is-our-means-of-paying-for-them/

For Thailand, I just did a bike trip from CM to Fang highway 107, and on the way back I have never ever seen the road, and in long stretches in such bad shape. Extremely highly dangerous for bike riders and people who drive automobiles not so well. It is apparent beyond a doubt that the damage is cause by large trucks. This was not all of the road start to finsih but started from going south from Chaiprakarn when you hit the hills and then going for a good 20 to 30 minutes more outside of the hills range. The road is severely torn up in places apparently looks as to being done by large trucks and busses.

Worst road I have seen to date. Dirt and partial mountian roads don't count.

[Pinetree]

2 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Mountain roads and major truck routes are ones that get torn up. With mountains there is also snow and chains on vehicles that may wear and tear and erode the road. Other places might be cities that are under funded like low income neigborhoods or gang areas or place that have a lwo population, but you would think federal highways are the best, but after just looking, a lot of the road repairs are based on gas tax and that is faliling i nthe USa as is now being addressed as a major concern.

Arcticle: Published by the Utah State University - The Center for Grwoth and Opportunity

https://www.thecgo.org/benchmark/us-roads-are-crumbling-but-so-is-our-means-of-paying-for-them/

For Thailand, I just did a bike trip from CM to Fang highway 107, and on the way back I have never ever seen the road, and in long stretches in such bad shape. Extremely highly dangerous for bike riders and people who drive automobiles not so well. It is apparent beyond a doubt that the damage is cause by large trucks. This was not all of the road start to finsih but started from going south from Chaiprakarn when you hit the hills and then going for a good 20 to 30 minutes more outside of the hills range. The road is severely torn up in places apparently looks as to being done by large trucks and busses.

Worst road I have seen to date. Dirt and partial mountian roads don't count.

The big difference is, Thailand is building quickly,  to correct the infrastructure  issues, albeit with borrowed money and the West is just sitting back wringing their hands and doing very little to nothing.  Yes Thailand is a 'Developing Country', the trouble is, most western Nations seem to be regressing, not advancing. Perhaps,  instead of talking about the 'First World Countries', we should call them the 'Regressing Nations' . 

[Pinetree]

33 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Yes bridges are in bad shape

And I was talking more about the main highways 

Can't think of one that is bad 

Try Highway 285 South and 24 West, I-70 from Denver to Vale and Beaver Creek.  A main tourist route, summer and winter.    

[HolyCowCm]

5 minutes ago, Pinetree said:

The big difference is, Thailand is building quickly,  to correct the infrastructure  issues, albeit with borrowed money and the West is just sitting back wringing their hands and doing very little to nothing.  Yes Thailand is a 'Developing Country', the trouble is, most western Nations seem to be regressing, not advancing. Perhaps,  instead of talking about the 'First World Countries', we should call them the 'Regressing Nations' . 

Oddly enough,10 minutes ago the mailman just brought mail that is from the department of the highways. It’s addressed to my wife, so I won’t open it. But 100% is something from the department of the highways Thailand. Talk about weird timing. Now my curiosity can’t wait, but I have to until my wife gets home l as I am wondering what they want or what they are updating on. 

[Pinetree]

13 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Oddly enough,10 minutes ago the mailman just brought mail that is from the department of the highways. It’s addressed to my wife, so I won’t open it. But 100% is something from the department of the highways Thailand. Talk about weird timing. Now my curiosity can’t wait, but I have to until my wife gets home l as I am wondering what they want or what they are updating on. 

Not sure where you live, but I live North of Sattahip and we have endured 5 years of massive road construction, but it's coming to completion and it is very impressive.  The highway system in and around Pattaya to Rayong, and west from here to Chon Buri and BKK,  is just incredible.  If we drive from our house to the g/fs family, its 650km.  Apart from the last 10km,. the whole journey is on brightly lit,  dueled roads, even through the Korat mountains  (hills really) 

[HolyCowCm]

2 minutes ago, Pinetree said:

Not sure where you live, but I live North of Sattahip and we have endured 5 years of massive road construction, but it's coming to completion and it is very impressive.  The highway system in and around Pattaya to Rayong, and west from here to Chon Buri and BKK,  is just incredible.  If we drive from our house to the g/fs family, its 650km.  Apart from the last 10km,. the whole journey is on brightly lit,  dueled roads, even through the Korat mountains  (hills really) 

I live in Chiang Mai about 15/20 minutes bike ride outside the city depending on traffic. The roads here are fine and always being worked on. Seems there is an excess of money, especially around election time, and now they have been re-doing the road drainage, and this is literally everywhere. Me thinks someone has an interest in these company who do the work, as the crews are not large at all and go form one area to the next. Prior to this they were redoing the sidewalks, tearing them out on the major throughways or main roadways adding a strip of             i d i o t i c yellow to them for asthetics. This is a tourist city though, but I also did see money being tossed around Bangkok and Phuket in the last 4 months as well.

As mentioned, these companies and crews are not big at all (skeleton) and looks as the spending is quite large. won't say it, but maybe part of the trough feeding or come on to my side gift.

[Guest1]

50 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

I live in Chiang Mai about 15/20 minutes bike ride outside the city depending on traffic. The roads here are fine and always being worked on. Seems there is an excess of money, especially around election time, and now they have been re-doing the road drainage, and this is literally everywhere. Me thinks someone has an interest in these company who do the work, as the crews are not large at all and go form one area to the next. Prior to this they were redoing the sidewalks, tearing them out on the major throughways or main roadways adding a strip of             i d i o t i c yellow to them for asthetics. This is a tourist city though, but I also did see money being tossed around Bangkok and Phuket in the last 4 months as well.

As mentioned, these companies and crews are not big at all (skeleton) and looks as the spending is quite large. won't say it, but maybe part of the trough feeding or come on to my side gift.

Imho, road construction is a give and take

The road department give the orders and takes a cut.

Thus makes both sides interested, that roads are not to good, so that the money is always in circulation.

And no one cares, that road construction ist most often just putting another layer of tarmac on, quick, quick, quick. And the road surface is getting higher and higher. Becoming a bigger dam. Which may be fine over land, but in cities, villages, with houses and gardens, perhaps garages around?

 

[HolyCowCm]

4 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Imho, road construction is a give and take

The road department give the orders and takes a cut.

Thus makes both sides interested, that roads are not to good, so that the money is always in circulation.

And no one cares, that road construction ist most often just putting another layer of tarmac on, quick, quick, quick. And the road surface is getting higher and higher. Becoming a bigger dam. Which may be fine over land, but in cities, villages, with houses and gardens, perhaps garages around?

Many of our streets and roads here are cement, but asphalt is defenitely being used to layer over on some. Looks as if they keep on adding the asphalt in most areas and that is it, but to be fair I have seen them grind it down and then adding a new layer, but this must be a last strw of havin to do it or maybe another way to increase work ongoing 

there is one road running the side of the RR tracks and instead of repairing the falling cracking part that lays near the ditch on a rather long stretch of the the RR tracks part of the road, they just pave over it instead of fixing it. The problem never goes away and sooner or later this part stretch of the road is just going to slide into the ditch or open up a nice crack sometime or the otehr and create an accident. I can see that these are private priveldged concessions that the pie slices are more than likely washed and it is never ending. 

[Guest1]

8 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

but to be fair I have seen them grind it down and then adding a new layer,

Oh yes, I have seen that first time, on Phuket, while they widened the Chao Fah West road. About 20 years ago.

And thought "oh, they start reusing the tarmac, but: No, they just took one layer down, so that they have been on the same level, as the new stretch. And after, they did put sand on both parts, on the sandy part and on the grinded taremac. And liquid tarmac on top, to stabilize the sand and hold it together. Before they started to realy tarmac ALL of the road, on a km or more, in one time. A couple of weeks later!

They needed the machines somewhere else, I guess. 

And after that, they just used it before traffic lights. to not have to refill the wheel ruts with to much fresh tarmac ;-) It is easier to do another surface  on the old one.