Cranky cat unfairly blamed for train’s 7-hour delay

Pet upset by heat causes stir for 20 minutes, but Yala-bound train had other problems

A cat that was not enjoying the ride has become the object of some online criticism after a southbound train arrived at its final destination seven hours behind schedule.

Rapid Train No.169 arrived at the Yala station in southern Thailand at 6.15pm on Monday, seven hours late, after an eventful journey from Bangkok that included the animal misbehaviour.

According to a Facebook user by the name of Kijja Pongpisa, the train had to stop in the middle of the journey to help the owner of the cat to catch the pet.

The cat was believed to have been irritated by scorching weather conditions and started biting the owner and scratching other passengers, the post said.

Three train staff took 20 minutes to use a bedsheet to wrap the cat to keep it calm before the train resumed travel, the post added.

A picture accompanying the facebook page showed the ginger cat travelling with its owner in a non-air conditioned sleeper car on the rapid train.

It was unclear when the bites took place, and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) did not report the incident to the public.

The Facebook post about the cat was shared by several media outlets on Tuesday.

But at least two people came to the defence of the overheated pet, and explained the real reason the train arrived so far behind schedule.

A commenter going by the name Ros Laoh said that passengers had to endure two lengthy waits due to the malfunction of one engine after another.

“The new engine replacing the broken one was also out of order,” wrote the passenger. “The delay wasn’t due to the cat.”

Another Facebook user by the name of Ploythara Chaleefong said the train from Bangkok stopped to wait for a new locomotive at the Na Phak Kwuang station in Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

The new engine had problems, so the train stopped at Khao Chaiyarat station in Pathiu district of Chumphon for another replacement, the user added.

“The train having to stop to catch the cat was only a small incident along the way,” Ploythara Chaleefong added.

The distance between the two stations is about 50 kilometres.

Seamen Ben confirmed that the locomotive change was to be blamed for the long arrival delay. “It took only 20 minutes to catch the cat. The pet did not cause the delay,” the commenter added.

The official SRT tracker only confirmed that Train No.169 arrived at Yala on Monday 430 minutes, or about seven hours, late.

The SRT did not specify the reason for the late arrival. It only said in general that “the train’s delay could be due to construction, malfunction of the engine, a green light for track clearance or problems from passengers”.