Bang Sue Grand Station gets official name granted by King
Thailand’s largest railway hub, currently known as Bang Sue Grand Station, will be officially named “Krungthep Abhiwat Central Terminal”, according to the Transport Ministry.
The name, which literally means “Bangkok prosperity”, was granted by His Majesty the King at the request of the Cabinet Secretariat early this month.
Additionally, the Royal Household Bureau has informed the secretariat that His Majesty also named the State Railway of Thailand’s (SRT) Light Red Line commuter train route “Nakhon Withi”. The route runs from Bang Sue to Taling Chan.
The Dark Red Line commuter train route, linking Bang Sue and Rangsit, received the official name “Thani Ratthaya”.
The 15-billion-baht grand station went into operation last November and now mainly serves passengers of the SRT’s two Red lines. There are currently about 19,000 passengers per day.
Located in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, it is the largest railway station in Southeast Asia, with 26 platforms and more than 274,000 square metres of usable floor space.
Ten tracks have been built to accommodate future high-speed train connections linking three major airports, while regional routes link the capital with Nong Khai in the Northeast, Malaysia's Padang Besar in the South, and Chiang Mai in the North.
The station is connected to the Metropolitan Rapid Transit’s Bang Sue station via an underground walkway.
The official opening of the new central terminal is expected to be held early next year, when full services get underway, with a host of shops, restaurants and other facilities.
The “Bang Sue Grand Station” sign prominently placed on the massive building will be replaced with the new name before the official opening, according to a Transport Ministry source.
