Bang Sue Grand Station

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Just opened last summer, at a cost of 15 billion baht, the largest railway station in southeast Asia, with 26 platforms.

 

 

Although it's been open for a while, there's not much happening there.  Bang Sue Grand Station replaces the existing Hua Lamphong rail station, which is over a century old.  It was initially announced that Hua Lamphong would close at the end of last year but now looks to be in operation for at least two more years.  I wonder if people are just nostalgic and they don't want to leave.  There's talk of eventually turning it into a museum, which I think is an excellent idea.  In Paris, they converted an abandoned railroad station into Musée d'Orsay, displaying post-impressionist paintings, and it works extremely well IMHO.

 

 

Plenty of ticket booths.

 

 

Empty waiting room

 

 

My reason for coming today is their offering free walk-in covid vaccinations, but only until the end of the month.  Of course, I could pay 1300 at a clinic, up to me.  Thank you, Thai taxpayers!

 

 

The vaccination center seems to be where most of the action is now at Bang Sue Grand Station, and they're not very busy either.  I thought nearing the end of the month there would be larger numbers.  The vaccination center was divided into separate Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna camps, with a common area for observation.  The 30 minute observation was the only wait.

 

 

They had far higher capacity than demand.

 

 

They were selling souvenir vaccination T-shirts, 350 baht

 

 

Afterwards, I went to look for a food court and found a small one in the corner without many options.

 

 

So I went over to the old tracks outside where some mom-and-pop places are.

 

 

A plate of pad thai, 45 baht

 

 

And finally, back to the MRT.  They have an underground tunnel connecting the station same at Hua Lamphong.  I hope Bang Sue Grand Station will be utilized more, after the vaccination station closes it'll be the emptiest building in town.

 

 

[forcebwithu 4,853]

Excellent photo essay. TFP!

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

3 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Excellent photo essay. TFP!

Thanks.  You have another week to go there and get vaxed. LOL. For free!

[jacko 8,814]

6 hours ago, RhinoTusk said:

Thanks.  You have another week to go there and get vaxed. LOL. For free!

Interesting that you get to choose your  poison.  brand. Moderna is free too? 

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

9 minutes ago, jacko said:

Interesting that you get to choose your  poison.  brand. Moderna is free too? 

Yes, you can choose which one you want.  I went with Pfizer because that’s what I had last time (6 months ago).  The arm is a little sore today, same as before.

[firth1974 2,659]

Remember driving on the expressway a few times as this station was been built. Its one huge and big ass place if I remember correctly! I never thought that there would be enough business for a such a huge station, but lets wait and see.

Are there any other shops or businesses inside the station?

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

1 hour ago, firth1974 said:

Are there any other shops or businesses inside the station?

Vending machines and empty spaces, but I only saw the ground level,  There are 4.

 

[TheFiend 1,181]

8 hours ago, firth1974 said:

Remember driving on the expressway a few times as this station was been built. Its one huge and big ass place if I remember correctly! I never thought that there would be enough business for a such a huge station, but lets wait and see.

Are there any other shops or businesses inside the station?

The plan is for the huge new station to be the hub for the planned high speed network. The idea of basing at Bang Sue rather than Hua Lamphong is to reduce the traffic disruption the railways cause in Bangkok with the existing network..

 

 

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Most people there were for the vaccine.  After they close the center next week there will hardly be anyone using the station.

This guy put a nice vlog together

 

Edited September 24, 2022 by RhinoTusk

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

A new dual track rail between Bang Sue Grand Station and Hua Hin is set to open this year that will cut travel time in half.  I’ve taken that route three times and it takes forever, like 5-6 hours.  This is a welcome relief.

https://www.huahintoday.com/local-news/new-dual-track-train-line-in-hua-hin-to-open-this-year-2-5-hour-journey-time-to-bangkok/

[jacko 8,814]

12 hours ago, RhinoTusk said:

A new dual track rail between Bang Sue Grand Station and Hua Hin is set to open this year that will cut travel time in half.  I’ve taken that route three times and it takes forever, like 5-6 hours.  This is a welcome relief.

https://www.huahintoday.com/local-news/new-dual-track-train-line-in-hua-hin-to-open-this-year-2-5-hour-journey-time-to-bangkok/

It has been a long time coming.... 

I have also done that slow train ride....but oh so long ago.

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

1 hour ago, jacko said:

It has been a long time coming.... 

I have also done that slow train ride....but oh so long ago.

It took a long time but the 3rd class fare was only 44 baht

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

This blogger discusses the future of train travel in Thailand and has some drone footage of the new tracks around Hua Hin

 

[yorta2 693]

Brilliant footage and very enjoyable to watch.