Passengers almost fainted from a lack of air after they were stranded when the Airport Rail Link train travelling to Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday suffered from power failure.
Customers were trapped inside for almost four hours, leaving most of the travellers gasping for air, and most reportedly missed their flights.
Four stations, including Hua Mark, Baan Thap Chang, Lat Krabang, and Suvarnbhumi Airport, were closed. Thai media reported that trains No. 1031 to 1034 were stuck on the tracks between Hua Mark and Baan Thap Chang Station for about four hours.
Passengers going to Suvarnabhumi Airport had to find other ways to get to the capital’s main airport such as vans, buses, and taxis, which brought in a new line of complaints, such as long taxi queues.
An Airport Rail Link security guard made known that the train system broke down at about 2pm. Most of the train’s passengers were gasping for air because the air-conditioning stopped working.
The guard added rail staff managed to open the stranded train doors and evacuated customers at about 5.40pm.
The Airport Rail Link Facebook page stated there was no fainting or injuries and apologised for the inconvenience. The page failed to state whether the company will pay compensation to passengers affected or to those who missed their flights.
Many Thai netizens complained saying this isn’t the first time the Airport Rail Link caused problems for commuters. Many said the company should learn from its mistakes and improve its service.
The system failure was still affecting passengers this morning.
Airport Rail Link informed commuters that eight trains were available but the service wouldn’t be fully operational at two stations, Lat Krabang, and Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Airport Rail Link is a train that is owned by the State Railway of Thailand and operated by Asia Era One Company. The service started in 2021 to connect Suvarnabhumi Airport in the eastern suburbs area to the centre of Bangkok.
There are eight stations, including Suvarnabhumi Airport, Lat Krabang, Baan Thap Chang, Hua Mark, Ramkamhaeeng, Makkasan (connected with Phetchaburi MRT station), Ratcchaprarop, and Phaya Thai (connected with Phaya Thai BTS station). – The Thaiger