Thailand on track to open largest rail station in Southeast Asia

[webfact]

Thailand on track to open largest rail station in Southeast Asia

By Jonathan Fairfield

 

Picture: Thailand PRD

 

Thailand is on schedule to open the largest rail station in Southeast Asia next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said. 

 

The Bang Sue Central Station will be fully functional by 2021, with all external construction having already been completed and only interior decoration still to be installed.

 

The four story Bang Sue Central Station, which will replace the Hua Lamphong Station to become Thailand’s national rail hub, spans some 1,280 acres and comprises of 12 platforms and 24 tracks, which will be able to accommodate between 26 and 40 trains at the same time. In terms of passenger numbers, the station has a capacity to handle 600,000 commuters per day - ten times more than Hua Lamphong Station.

 

Designed to be environmentally friendly, the station will have at least 30% green spaces and according to Voravut Mala, former Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand, it will be "pollution free since it will serve only electric trains."

 

Picture: Thailand PRD

 

The station will be used for intercity, underground and commuter trains, as well as for the new high speed train line that will link Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and U-Tapao international airports and which is central to the government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project that is expected to bring huge investment and massive infrastructure improvements the Eastern Seaboard. 

 

The high speed airport rail line will also be hugely beneficial for tourists in Thailand, enabling travel from the capital to east of the country with far greater ease than is possible today. 

 

Tipped for completion in 2023, passengers using the high speed train will be able to travel from Bangkok to U-Tapao in Rayong in just under one hour. 

 

The high speed train line will also connect Bangkok with Nong Khai, where passengers will be able to travel from the capital to Thailand’s northeast border with Laos in just three hours compared to the 11 hours by train and 8 hours by road the journey takes currently.

 

The opening of the Bang Sue Central Station will also be a big boost for people living in Bangkok both in terms of generating a new stream of jobs and income for the local economy, as well as helping to ease the capital’s infamous traffic congestion. 

 

 

 

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[ICELANDMAN]

I always look forward to doubling the Bangkok Hua hin railway in the next century

 

 

[RotBenz8888]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

helping to ease the capital’s infamous traffic congestion. 

Sounds great, in theory....

[canopus1969]

Tipped for completion in 2023, passengers using the high speed train will be able to travel from Bangkok to U-Tapao in Rayong in just under one hour. 

The high speed train line will also connect Bangkok with Nong Khai, where passengers will be able to travel from the capital to Thailand’s northeast border with Laos in just three hours

 

Sorry but this is just a pipe dream

[Shuya]

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project that is expected to bring huge investment and massive infrastructure improvements the Eastern Seaboard. 

The numbers say something different

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

I always look forward to doubling the Bangkok Hua hin railway in the next century

 

 

Had a real estate agent tell me in an email yesterday that now is the time to buy in Hua Hin. His rational was prices would double and possibly triple in the next 5 years as the trains and economic corridor were built up.  Such salesmanship for already over priced properties.

[John Drake]

27 minutes ago, webfact said:

the government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project that is expected to bring huge investment and massive infrastructure improvements the Eastern Seaboard. 

 

Not to mention hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers.

[ThailandRyan]

32 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

Not to mention hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers.

Sounds like the great US railway build of the 1800's

[John Drake]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sounds like the great US railway build of the 1800's

 

The great untold story there is that vast stretches of those tracks had to be laid all over again, because the initial construction was so shoddy. Some things never change.

[mtls2005]

Definitely impressive to see in erpson, up close.

 

Good that they got the big clocking working, finally.

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

The great untold story there is that vast stretches of those tracks had to be laid all over again, because the initial construction was so shoddy. Some things never change.

[Stocky]

58 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

I always look forward to doubling the Bangkok Hua hin railway in the next century

 

...and they might get double track down to Hat Yai and the Malaysian border the century after.

[DaLa]

1 hour ago, ICELANDMAN said:

I always look forward to doubling the Bangkok Hua hin railway in the next century

 

 

The station is absolutely impressive. As you say though even with the improvement to the tracks and new stations, the route to Hua Hin still doesn't look good for High Speed rail. Although  I have read in various press statements that the route is next on the list and not too far in the distant future.

[DaLa]

53 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Had a real estate agent tell me in an email yesterday that now is the time to buy in Hua Hin. His rational was prices would double and possibly triple in the next 5 years as the trains and economic corridor were built up.  Such salesmanship for already over priced properties.

Sounds like the same guy that was trying to tempt me to invest in Cha Am about 8 years ago based on a proposed new port being constructed there for luxury cruise liners.

 

I could see straight through it at the time and invested in Thai Airways instead.

[Surelynot]

Do you think they said....."on track".....on purpose?....Well impressed.

[josephbloggs]

51 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

 

Designed to be environmentally friendly, the station will have at least 30% green spaces and according to Voravut Mala, former Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand, it will be "pollution free since it will serve only electric trains."

 

Pretty sure that's not true and there will be diesel trains.

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Pretty sure that's not true and there will be diesel trains.

 

Indeed, my understanding is that the long distance trains will continue to be diesel hauled for the forseeable future.

 

Bang Sue Central is a monster, I wonder how much of SRT's annual budget will be consumed by the air-conditioning, I don't see any solar installed on that massive roof either.

 

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

and 24 tracks, which will be able to accommodate between 26 and 40 trains at the same time.

Can someone explain please.

[VocalNeal]

A mate of mine got drunk at the old Bang Sue station and fell off the platform. Now he can fall off a better class of platform.

[Rubble]

The most grandiose and awe-inspiring railway station in S.E. Asia as home base for the oldest, slowest and most decrepit trains in S.E. Asia. But credit where it is due. They actually made an artist's impression become reality. Something which rarely happens, especially if it is railway related. 

[Henryford]

Biggest station in Asia............ but no trains.

[josephbloggs]

24 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Indeed, my understanding is that the long distance trains will continue to be diesel hauled for the forseeable future.

 

Bang Sue Central is a monster, I wonder how much of SRT's annual budget will be consumed by the air-conditioning, I don't see any solar installed on that massive roof either.

 

I remember reading that only the ground floor ticketing / waiting area will be air-conditioned (and presumably the underground MRT station).  The second and third floor concourses will not have A/C.  Hope there's some decent breeze allowed through, unlike the ARL stations which are horrible sweat boxes (with the exception of Hua Mak).

Impressive building though - I look forward to checking it out when it's open.

[Stocky]

I came across this the other day, details of a proposed design for Hat Yai's high speed rail station.

 

https://start79thesis.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/hat-yai-junction-high-speed-railway-station/

 

...we can but dream.

 

[redwood1]

Tipped for completion in 2023, passengers using the high speed train will be able to travel from Bangkok to U-Tapao in Rayong in just under one hour. 

 

 

 

The bus from Bangkok to Pattaya takes around 2 hours give or take and cost a whopping 120 baht.....So one hour travel time to Rayong by rail is nothing to write home about....And you can bet at a much higher price....

[John Drake]

16 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Biggest station in Asia............ but no trains.

 

Build it and they will come. Right?

[Grumpy one]

So we get a 21st century station and early 19th century trains along with 18th century service.

 Cant wait to use it  ????

[ThailandRyan]

31 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Can someone explain please.

incoming and outgoing, but preferably not headed into each other.

[ThailandRyan]

23 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Biggest station in Asia............ but no trains.

[tinca tinca]

45 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

A mate of mine got drunk at the old Bang Sue station and fell off the platform. Now he can fall off a better class of platform.

did he have a platform ticket.....like i used to buy when I was  a train spotter.....AN ANORAK.....

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Tipped for completion in 2023, passengers using the high speed train will be able to travel from Bangkok to U-Tapao in Rayong in just under one hour. 

The high speed train line will also connect Bangkok with Nong Khai, where passengers will be able to travel from the capital to Thailand’s northeast border with Laos in just three hours

 

Sorry but this is just a pipe dream

Shurely shome mishtake?

Our illustrious leader and the then minister of transport said back in December 2017 that the Bangkok - Korat section would be 'up and running by 2021'.

Only seven weeks to go!

 

In July 2015 the same illustrious leader told us we would be having a new emergency number 911. He would be overseeing its implementation himself.

 

If only he would just do a couple of the things he waffles on about, then I'd have nowt to complain about.