International Railroad Discussion > Bangkok's iconic Hualamphong station to close in early 2021

My favorite place in Thailand, the elegant and centrally-located Hualamphong station, is being phased out in favor of a new station way out in the suburbs. It's a tragedy in many ways, a victory of car culture over a rail system that, for the most part, serves relatively poor people. The building is to become a museum....but it won't be the same. I took these photos (and a bunch more) in 2018 soon after news of the plan to close the station first became public. I first rode a train out of Hualamphong in 1984, and during the years I lived in the region it was always a place I came back to.Good article, and much better photos than mine, here:  https://southeastasiaglobe.com/rolling-into-the-future/

 

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A really nice looking station. I  wasn't aware of the planned closure. I was there in 2012 ago on an Eastern and Oriental (is that term still allowed?) Express trip. A great station. It even had a much needed Dunkin Doughnuts. What will be used instead? It seemed to be a really busy place with lots of trains coming and going. 

The magazine article I linked in the original post has photos of the new facility way up in Bang Sue (near what was the only hump yard in SE Asia, now closed, Precision Scheduled Railroading came early to Thailand haha). The new station is more reminicent of an airport or shopping mall in its design rather than a train station. Hualamphong will not be torn down, it is to be converted to some sort of museum....

This is sad news indeed.  I remember how impressed I was when I first saw the station 20+ years ago, having arrived on the overnight train from Chang Mai.

Gordon