The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has temporarily closed Thailand’s longest train tunnel shortly after its inauguration on Sunday due to passenger complaints about excessive dust inside the tunnel.
Ekarat Sri-arayanpong, head of the SRT governor’s office, reported that passengers traveling northeast raised concerns about the heavy dust encountered while passing through the Pha Sadet tunnel in Saraburi province. In response, the SRT has instructed the contractor to conduct a clean-up of the tunnel over the next 14 days.
The 5.4-kilometre tunnel, part of the SRT’s new double-track railway to the Northeast, officially opened on Sunday. The SRT aims to have the tunnel reopened by August 12.
Mr. Ekarat explained that, prior to the opening, the contractor had attempted to clear dust from the tunnel, but winds eventually blew dust back in.
During this temporary closure, trains heading to the northeast are reverting to their previous route from Map Krabao station through Pha Sadet and Hin Lap stations to Muak Lek station. This older route spans 18 kilometres and takes 32 minutes to traverse. In contrast, the new route via the tunnel is only 14 kilometres long and significantly reduces travel time to 15 minutes.
