The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has confirmed that 22 people were killed and 55 injured after a Bangkok–Ubon Ratchathani special express train struck a fallen construction crane in Nakhon Ratchasima on Wednesday morning, The Nation reports.
According to SRT and the Department of Rail Transport, the crane was part of construction works on the Thai–Chinese high-speed railway and had collapsed onto the operational main line. Officials from both agencies were dispatched to the site to determine the cause of the crane failure.
The train was travelling at speed when it hit the obstruction, and the impact caused additional sections of the crane structure to fall onto the derailed coaches. The initial fatality figure of three was revised to 22 by late morning as rescue teams accessed the wreckage.
Emergency services reported that 55 passengers sustained injuries, while around 190 people were trapped inside damaged carriages following the derailment. Rescue workers and medical teams used cutting equipment to free passengers from the train.
The accident occurred within a construction zone covered by the third and fourth contracts of the Thai–Chinese high-speed railway project, spanning the Lam Ta Kong–Si Khiew and Kudjik–Khok Kruad sections. These contracts were awarded to Italian-Thai Development Plc and were reported to be 99.54% complete as of December 2025.
The two contract sections include 37.45 km of railway infrastructure, comprising approximately 14.12 km of embankment and 23.33 km of elevated structures. The scope also covers eight facilities for the electric railway system, along with station relocation, road realignment, drainage works, and utility relocation.
