Probe into rail-link cracks
Cracks have been found on a number of concrete support structures on the Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi Airport elevated rail link, prompting the Transport Ministry to order an investigation.
Pongsak Ruktapongpisal, the caretaker transport minister, said he had already ordered the State Railway of Thailand to get together with the contractor to tackle the problem and if the structures were not technically sound they should be demolished and new ones built.He said construction work had to meet accepted standards to ensure safety. According to engineering sources, the cracks were found to be structural and therefore pose a serious problem for the elevated rail system, better known as Airport Link, which will connect the new Suvarnabhumi Airport with the Makkasan area in central Bangkok. Sources said the life span of the defective structures would be only half that of non-defective ones. "This is the second time we have found cracks in some of the huge concrete beams that shoulder the elevated rail system. The construction contractor has been ordered to stop work and solve the problem," said one source.
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