The last thing Bangkok needs this week is yet another story about train troubles, but this one has such a unique twist that we couldn’t ignore it.
Last night, Deputy Transport Minister Pailin Chuchottaworn said that the Airport Rail Link had to to remove one train from service — there are currently seven running — after a large stork rammed into the front of the train Tuesday night and shattered its windshield, Manager reported.
The incident occurred at about 10pm on Tuesday, when a white stork flew directly into the front window of a train as it departed Suvarnabhumi Airport — just 700 meters from Ban Thap Chang station.
It was unclear where the giant bird came from, as white storks are a protected species in Thailand and not a bird commonly spotted in Bangkok.
No crew members were injured, due to the double-layer protective glass, but as you might have guessed, the unfortunate bird did not survive the collision.
Pailin said officials hope to have the window replaced by Friday night, and all seven trains should be up and running again Saturday morning. Yup, two days for a shattered windshield.
Truth Seeker says
What was your purpose in saying “Yup, two days for a shattered windshield?” Was this meant to demean Rail Link & its people? Those are high speed trains, require special windshields (which in the situation being reported prevented serious injury and perhaps saved lives), the need for their replacement is rare especially because there are so few of the trains. Two days seems to be a reasonable replacement time. I usually enjoy your cheeky comments, but this one was is inappropriate.