NAKHON RATCHASIMA, THAILAND – Thailand’s Transport Ministry prepared to recommend terminating a major rail contract with Italian-Thai Development after a deadly crane collapse onto an express train in Sikhiu district.
Investigation blamed work over active tracks
Findings from the fact-finding inquiry were announced on 23 January 2026, seven days after the deadline set by the prime minister. The results were presented at a press conference chaired by Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, with senior officials from the Transport Ministry, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the Department of Highways in attendance.
Investigators concluded that the object that hit the train was part of the front support base of the crane, which became unbalanced while the crane was being repositioned and fell just as a passenger train passed under the construction site. On 14 January, 30 people were killed and 66 injured when the crane component crashed onto carriages of an express service in Sikhiu, on a section of the first phase of the Thai–China high-speed line built by leading Thai firms in partnership with China Railway Group (CREC).
Contract bans breached, no warning to stations
According to the report, construction was carried out above the tracks while trains were still running, despite a clear contractual ban on such work unless rail operations were suspended. The contract also required prior radio notification to stations so trains could be stopped or delayed until the site was secured, but investigators found no radio logs or other evidence of any such warning on the day of the accident.
“We know where the mistake was.”
said Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Premier and Transport Minister.
He said the failure to notify represented a central and serious breach of contract and directly implicated Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD).
SRT board to vote on rail contract termination
The Transport Ministry said it would now recommend ending the contract, with the final decision resting with the SRT board, which holds formal authority over the agreement as a state enterprise. The proposal was scheduled to be placed on the board’s agenda on 29 January, after review by the SRT’s legal subcommittee.
Acting SRT governor Anan Pothinimdaeng confirmed that the incident revealed glaring failures in safety measures required under the contract, noting that contractors were normally obliged to notify stations by radio at least one day, and in some cases up to seven days, in advance. An analysis of communication records showed no such message had been sent, and
“The train entered the construction area without warning, which led directly to the accident,”
said Anan Pothinimdaeng, acting SRT governor.
He added that the damaged track near Sikhiu had since been repaired and train services had resumed.
Second crane accident forces 60-day road closure
In parallel, the committee investigated a second crane accident on Rama 2 Road during construction of the Bang Khun Thian–Ban Phaeo intercity motorway, where a crane fell onto a vehicle and damaged parts of a bridge structure. The probe was still under way, with initial findings indicating the crane fell after work had finished for the day.
Piyapong Chiwatnakulpaishal, director-general of the Department of Highways, said his agency, the Transport Ministry and the Engineering Institute of Thailand had inspected the site. Authorities decided to close the main traffic lanes of Rama 2 Road through the construction zone completely for 60 days, demolish damaged bridge sections, remove other dangerous structures in the impact area, and divert traffic to parallel lanes.
Stability concerns at Tha Chin River works
Piyapong said work would be accelerated at high-risk locations over the Tha Chin River, where extensive scaffolding and supports were in use. An initial stability assessment by the Engineering Institute indicated that ongoing instability posed a collapse risk, meaning work in those areas had to be completed within 60 days.
Construction was halted not only for safety reasons but also as a sanction: the remaining construction time for the contractor was shortened and additional payment was ruled out. The opening of the motorway, originally planned for April, was postponed, and if construction was not finished by May 2026, contract penalties of 0.25% of the contract value per day would apply, amounting to around 4.7 million baht daily on a project worth 1.8 billion baht.
Highways agency readied penalties and exit option
The Department of Highways began preparations for a possible contract termination, with a three-party commission from the Department of Highways, the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of the Comptroller General examining the legal basis and termination rights. If the contractor were allowed to continue, strict conditions would apply, including full site securing, technical checks of all machinery with added warning sensors, deployment of a new, reliable engineering and work team, constant supervision by the Engineering Institute of Thailand, and public reporting on construction progress.
Tougher sanctions for unsafe contractors
Chayatham Phromsorn, secretary-general at the Transport Ministry, pointed to broader sanction tools against construction companies, such as ratings, point deductions, downgrades and blacklisting, which were formally handled by the Finance Ministry and administered by the Comptroller General’s Department. He said relevant regulations already existed, but details of implementation were still being worked out.
The ministry had been pursuing stricter safety requirements for construction projects for more than three years, including documentation and control systems, though the authority to downgrade contractors was tied to key criteria that a separate commission would now seek to implement more quickly. Additional penalty clauses had been written into contracts of agencies under the Transport Ministry for projects where serious accidents with fatalities occurred.
Italian-Thai accepted findings, pledged payouts
Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited responded through senior executive vice president Sumet Surabotsopon, saying the company accepted the investigation’s results and was ready to face any scrutiny.
“We immediately paid initial assistance to the injured and the bereaved,”
said Sumet Surabotsopon, senior executive vice president of Italian-Thai Development.
He said compensation of more than one million baht per person had been prepared, in addition to insurance benefits and payments from the SRT.
Company cites equipment checks, denies lawsuit plan
According to Sumet, equipment and machinery met technical standards and load capacities were checked regularly, with rented cranes also inspected by consultants and site managers. He said the incidents could stem from procedural flaws rather than systemic failings across all ITD projects.
Sumet rejected reports that the company planned to sue the government, stating,
“These claims are false.”
said Sumet Surabotsopon, senior executive vice president of Italian-Thai Development.
He added that the group’s liquidity was normal and that financial issues had not affected safety or material quality, and that a central safety committee oversaw all construction sites. A special unit was working on internal sanctions in cases of negligence, and the company asked for a chance to improve its procedures, while the Transport Ministry stressed that investigations in both crane cases were continuing and that further legal and administrative steps would depend on final conclusions.