Some free train services will be provided during the New Year holiday period, State Railway of Thailand governor Yutthana Thapcharoen said Monday.

Mr Yutthana said there will be 20 free non-air-conditioned train services and six free air-conditioned train services on Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok-Surat Thani routes from Dec 30 to Jan 3.

The government on Monday opened a centre for preventing and reducing the number of road accidents during the 2011 New Year holiday period.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Wibul Sanguanpong said the centre, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, will promote road safety and monitor the number of traffic accidents during the "Seven Dangerous Days" between Dec 29 and Jan 4.

Her Majesty the Queen will today preside over the opening ceremony to celebrate the nomination of the stone inscriptions in Wat Pho as Memory of the World.

The ceremony will start at 5.20pm at Wat Pho - Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn - Education Ministry permanent secretary Sasithara Pichaichannarong said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has registered 1,431 old stone inscriptions at Wat Pho as Memory of the World since May.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra declared yesterday that flood waters in the capital had receded completely.

He also said that Bangkok Metropolitan Administration officials had collected 644,788 tonnes of garbage from October 15 to December 22, though some 11,666 tonnes of trash still had to be collected in Don Muang, Lak Si, Bang Khen, Sai Mai, Bang Khae, Nong Khaem, Thawee Wattana and Taling Chan districts.

The governor reckoned that all the garbage should be picked up by Monday, though it might take until Wednesday to remove the waste in Nong Khaem.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri yesterday revealed the progress of post-flood rehabilitation in 65 provinces, announcing that 13 million people in the provinces had been affected, but 91 per cent of the areas had returned to normal.

Tarutao Marine National Park is the largest marine preserve in both Thailand and Southeast Asia. Founded as Thailand’s second marine national park in 1972, it comprises 51 islands in three distinct groups, located in the balmy waters of Thailand’s Andaman Sea. Thailand has more than its fair share of picture-perfect islands and beaches but what makes Tarutao so special is that, with the exception of the tiny island of Ko Lipe, no private resorts or infrastructure developments are permitted. This regulation is very strictly enforced.