Bangkok's trains disrupted from elevated platform of unfinished rail project collapse

BANGKOK, March 1 (TNA) - An elevated platform of un unfinished railway project, under the "Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System" (BERTS), also known as the Hopewell project, collapsed near Samian Naree Temple in the Thai capital Thursday morning, blocking a railway track on the ground. The incident took place about 8.20am, about 100 meters from the temple, but no one was injured. Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Yutthana Thapcharoen has sent senior engineers to the scene and learned that steel scaffolds have disappeared, believed to have been stolen, causing the collapse. The collapsed platform blocked and disrupted an inbound railway track and train services. Workers took about three hours to clear the way and will need a week to clean up the scene. The BERTS or Hopewell project was launched by the previous Thai government of late General Chatichai Choonhavan, aimed to solve traffic congestion in the capital and adjacent areas. The construction was, however, delayed due to obstacles to the delivery of construction sites along existing railway tracks, as well as economic problems. Despite support from the subsequent governments, the project owner could not secure financial sources. The construction stopped in the Chuan Leekpai government seven years afterwards, when only 14 per cent of the project was built. Its pillars and beams have been abandoned since then. (TNA)