Severe Heat Warps Railroad Tracks

CHUMPHON, May 2 (TNA) - The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has explained the cause of warped railroad tracks in Nakhon Si Thammarat due to the extreme heat. 

The situation has necessitated temporary halts to train services for cooling measures to be applied to restore the tracks and allow normal operations to resume.

According to images and text circulating on social media regarding the railroad tracks between Ron Pibul Station and Khao Chum Thong Junction, the tracks appear warped on April 30.

These measures are required to counteract the effects of the intense heat and higher-than-usual temperatures, which have caused expansion and stress within the concrete sleepers supporting the tracks. As a result, the tracks have become misaligned.

Officials from the SRT Engineering Division have sprayed water and used ice to alleviate the heat, a process that took approximately one hour to complete. Subsequently, the tracks returned to their normal state. 

Simultaneously, inspections were conducted along the entire railroad line, and crusted stone used for the track ballast was added to maintain track stability and safety.

However, due to the current hot weather conditions, the steel tracks are prone to expansion according to engineering principles. To address this, SRT regularly inspects track conditions with its engineering team. -819 (TNA)