New Year traffic nightmare
Inbound traffic from Ayutthaya paralyses the Asia Highway yesterday as motorists make their return from the long New Year holiday.
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People spending the New Year holiday in the North, Northeast and South began heading back to Bangkok yesterday, clogging up the main arteries including the Asia, Mittrapap and Petchkasem highways.
Mor Chit 2 bus terminal and Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok were bracing for the deluge of returnees.
Hat Yai Train Station in the southern province of Songkhla reported tickets to Bangkok were sold out until Sunday.
The Mittrapap Highway from Khon Kaen to Sara Buri saw traffic at a stantstill in some spots and barely crawling along in others
Nakhon Ratchasima's two bus terminals were packed with about 10,000 ticket-buyers but officials were confident they could clear all passengers out by midnight.
The 256-kilometre trip between Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok was taking up to six hours instead of the usual three.
In Nakhon Sawan, the gateway to the North, police opened up one more Bangkok-bound lane on the Asia Highway near Phayuha Khiri district. The Nakhon Sawan bus station brought 50 spare coaches into service.
Mor Chit officials estimated nearly 300,000 people would flood back from the North and Northeast throughout the day and urged taxis and passenger vans to help get them out quickly. Hua Lamphong forecast 120,000 passengers would be arriving.
Following the bloody New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, security at both transport centres has been beefed up and trashcans removed.
Today, about 130,000 people are expected to arrive in Bangkok by train and 200,000 by bus. Transport Co Ltd has organised 6,000 bus trips to meet the demand.
Khon Kaen added two more trains and 230 buses to accommodate travellers to Bangkok.
Road accidents nationwide during the first five days of the "most dangerous week" of the New Year period claimed 351 lives and injured 3,970, said Anucha Mokhawes, chief of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and secretary of the Road Safety Centre.
On Monday alone, 784 accidents killed 76 people and hurt 903 others, he said.
Almost half of the accidents were caused by drunk driving and one-fourth by speeding. More than 88 per cent of the accidents involved motorcycles and were concentrated between 4pm and 8pm on straight stretches of highways.
The first five days racked up 3,569 accidents.
Chiang Rai, Buri Ram, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Bangkok had the most deaths with 14 each, while Chiang Rai had the most accidents at 115 and Nakhon Ratchasima had the most injuries at 130.
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