BANGKOK, April 1 (TNA) — The State Railway of Thailand suspended the service of its 44 commercial trains today due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The SRT stated that the suspension covered 44 commercial trains. Earlier it had announced to suspend 22 commercial trains because the number of their passengers dropped by half.
The impact is worse as some provinces are locked down to control COVID-19 and the SRT is unable to operate trains there, it said. The state enterprise promises to fully refund money for the people who earlier booked tickets for the affected commercial trains.
At the Hua Lamphong railway terminal, fewer people were catching trains. They had to undergo body temperature checks and fill in health questionnaires. At waiting areas, they were seated well apart from one another to comply with the government’s social distancing policy to curb the disease.
Meanwhile, Pakapong Sirikantaramat, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority, said the MRTA planned to reduce its train trips as the number of passengers fell from 400,000 to 98,000 a day on its Blue Line and from 70,000 to 13,000-14,000 on its Purple Line. (TNA)
