BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand ushered in a new era of train travel on Thursday as Southeast Asia’s largest train station officially began operations. The government says the huge modern development on the outskirts of central Bangkok will strengthen the country’s position as a regional hub and boost its economy.
It is officially called Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, a name given by the king. But to most people, it’s more likely simply known as Bang Sue Grand Station, after the part of Bangkok it’s in.
The cost of the new terminal, including the station, elevated rail tracks and a connecting station for Bangkok’s mass transit system, is around $1 billion, according to Takun Indarachome, director of traffic operations for the National Railways of Thailand.
Almost all of Thailand’s domestic and international long-distance rail services will pass through the new terminal, work on which began 10 years ago. The first train out of the new station was bound for Sungai Kolok, on Thailand’s southern border with Malaysia.
Many Thais, however, lament the redirection of the old terminal, Hua Lamphong Station, on the edge of Bangkok’s Chinatown in the middle of the capital. The classic station, with its high-ceilinged waiting room, has welcomed generations of travellers, ranging from rural workers seeking employment in the city to backpackers heading south to relax in the resorts.
But all is not lost for the nostalgic. Several lines – running locally and to the east – will continue to run to the older, more central station. For now at least, 62 trains will use it daily.
Construction of the new terminal coincided with major plans to expand rail networks in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, driven largely by the Belt and Road Infrastructure Initiative of China and its high-speed rail technology.
Passengers will encounter a four-story station covering nearly 30 hectares (3.2 million square feet). Many Bangkokians are already familiar with the location as its cavernous halls were used as the main venue for the government’s free COVID-19 vaccination program last year.
Trains come and go on 24 tracks on 12 platforms, with the station able to handle up to 40 trains at the same time, according to the government. At peak times, it can accommodate up to 600,000 passengers a day, more than 10 times the capacity of Hua Lamphong station, he said.
In Bang Sue’s state-of-the-art control room, rows of panels and screens monitor operations and make sure everything is running smoothly. Video from over 120 security cameras is monitored using artificial intelligence. In public spaces, smart robots are on hand to help perplexed passengers, and smart wheelchairs can transport disabled people without human assistance.
“Today is the first day after they moved the service from Hua Lamphong and a lot of people didn’t know about it yet, so the place looks empty,” said Theerawat Peangda, who was waiting to take a train south for vacation. “But I think this station is okay, very nice and convenient.
Hua Lamphong, on the other hand, looks more to the past than to the future. To walk through the neo-Renaissance gate of the station, designed by Italian architects and inaugurated in 1916, is to go back in time to a simpler time. For a time, it even appeared that it would be relegated to the status of a museum.
“I don’t want them to move the big station. I would prefer him to stay here,” Prathuang Ruengsamut, 68, said earlier this week as he waited for a train in Hua Lamphong. “They just need to renovate this place a bit and it will be fine.”
Such deep affection for the old station may well have saved it. When plans were mooted to demolish it, there was public outcry and the authorities backtracked.
“If they had closed it and turned it into a museum, it would have become lifeless. But if we let people keep using it, it’s much better,” said Thanong Thooptian, 61, who regularly takes trains from Hua Lamphong.
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