Senator Wutthichat revealed that the Senate Transport Committee has summoned the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to explain the train-bus collision on 20 May. The committee supports Prime Minister Anutin's idea to build tunnels or overpasses at railway crossings.
At 09:30 on 18 May 2026 GMT+7, Senator Wutthichat Kalyanamitr, a member of the Senate and chairman of the Senate Transport Committee, said at the parliament building about the upcoming Transport Committee meeting to examine the case of the train colliding with a public bus at the Asoke-Phetchaburi intersection. He stated that official letters have been sent to the Department of Rail Transport, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Land Transport Organization, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), and traffic police officers from Makkasan Police Station, inviting them to provide information on 20 May 2026 at 13:00 GMT+7. The inquiry will focus on whether all agencies complied with traffic laws, such as whether vehicles were stopped on the railway tracks. Addressing this issue requires joint cooperation as it involves shared public roadways. At the same time, he supports Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul's proposal that railway crossings in Bangkok should be replaced with overpasses or tunnels in the future.
Senator Wutthichat added that during his tenure as SRT governor, there was a project to strictly enforce traffic regulations, but the cost was quite high. Therefore, traffic facilitation measures were adjusted. If one searches for old footage, trains would wait until traffic cleared completely before proceeding. In this case, the reason for braking 100 meters before the crossing must be examined, especially since the train had passed several intersections. He admitted that if strict enforcement were applied, each train would take at least 5-10 minutes to pass, or up to 20 minutes if trains passed each other, due to vehicle accumulation. Even if everyone observes traffic discipline, measures to reduce traffic congestion remain necessary.
Regarding the train driver's purple urine test and lack of a train driving license, Senator Wutthichat said these are two separate issues: 1. If the purple urine indicates drug use, it is a serious offense. 2. Regarding the license, the Rail Transport Act was only recently enforced, so it is unclear what timeframe the law requires for compliance. Previously, train operations included standard training for personnel.