Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station opens to passengers

Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station officially began operations yesterday, a potential new age of train travel in Thailand.

The cost of the new terminal, including the station, tracks and a connecting station for Bangkok’s mass transit system, was around US$1 billion (30 billion baht).

Officially, the station’s name is Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, a name bestowed by the king, and the centre of some controversy. To most people, it will likely be known as Bang Sue Grand Station, after the part of Bangkok it’s in.

The name change is on hold after it a heavy backlash for its US$1 million (30 million baht) price tag. When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, many questioned the need to spend such an amount in taxpayers’ money.

Long-distance domestic and international trains will pass through the Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station. The first train out of the new station was bound for Sungai Kolok, on the border with Malaysia.

Hua Lamphong Station on the edge of Chinatown in the middle of the capital was Bangkok’s main terminal for years. The iconic station, with its high-ceilinged waiting room, will remain an Instagram classic forever.

The construction of the new terminal coincided with major projects expanding rail networks in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia, largely spurred by China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative and its high-speed rail technology.

Passengers at Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station will encounter a four-story station covering almost 30 hectares (3.2 million square feet). Many are already familiar with the premises because its cavernous halls were used last year as the venue for a government Covid vaccination program.

Trains will come and go on 24 tracks at 12 platforms, with the station able to manage up to 40 trains at the same time, according to the government. At peak times it can handle up to 600,000 passengers per day, more than 10 times the capacity of Hua Lamphong station.