(Files) Officials stand next to the front of a train that collided with a bus underneath Makkasan Airport Rail station in Bangkok on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP)
Bangkok: The driver of a train that collided with a bus in Thailand's capital, killing eight people, has tested positive for drugs and was charged with reckless driving, officials said Monday.
The freight train crashed into the public bus on Saturday afternoon at a busy junction in Bangkok, with the vehicle bursting into flames and 30 people left injured, authorities said.
Police charged the train driver, who was also injured, and a railway-crossing guard on Sunday with negligence causing injury and death, said Urumporn Koondejsumrit, chief of the local police station where the crash occurred.
Both denied the charge, he told AFP.
"The train driver was found with methamphetamine and marijuana substances in his urine," Anan Phonimdaeng, acting director of the State Railway of Thailand, later told a press conference.
The driver was suspended from duty, he added.
Images on social media on Saturday showed the train approaching a level crossing at a moderate speed before colliding with the bus, which was on the tracks and stuck in traffic.
AFP journalists saw other damaged vehicles and a burned-out SUV near the crash site.
The government will pay families 2.39 million baht ($73,000) in compensation per deceased victim, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told reporters on Monday.
Those injured would receive between $4,000 and $30,600, Siripong said.
The government was considering a plan to restrict where and when trains were allowed to travel through central Bangkok, senior transport ministry official Jiraroth Sukolrat said.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said freight trains normally travel through the capital at night, but the train that collided with the bus was delayed.
Bangkok police chief Siam Boonsom said Sunday that there was traffic congestion at the crossing daily, but never an accident.
Police were reviewing footage of the scene to determine whether the crossing guard was negligent, he told reporters.
"We see the official holding the red flag which means the track was not safe but we also see that the train did not stop or slow down, causing the crash," Siam said.
Footage of the crash site on other days showed vehicles stopped on the track, with officials raising the red flag to signal to oncoming trains to stop until the traffic cleared, he said.
Authorities were also investigating the speed of the train and its braking distance, Siam added.
Local emergency services said eight people were killed and 30 injured, with 15 still in hospitals as of Monday afternoon.
