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The largest railway station in Southeast Asia
An Olympic bid for the new Indonesian capital, Luang Prabang railway station update, Singapore's Cross Island Line MRT, and more construction and transport news in Southeast Asia.
Hello from Ho Chi Minh City, where we are in hard lockdown mode for two weeks. In fact, most of Southeast Asia is in a dire state this month, with Indonesia now the Covid epicentre of Asia. Not to turn this into a current affairs newsletter, but this preamble is somewhat related to this week’s article.
I have a loose publishing calendar that keeps me on track for what to publish. This week I had scheduled a story on Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok, which was supposed to open this month. Even if it’s not operating yet, it’s now the largest railway station in Southeast Asia.
The station is now planning to open in November, and this cavernous space is currently being used as a vaccination centre. The latest Covid wave in Thailand is so bad that they also transformed the new terminal at Suvarnabhumi into a field hospital.
I visited the Bang Sue construction site in 2019 (that’s where my current profile photo comes from), and last year I was half hoping that I could be there on the opening day. That looks unlikely now.
[Bang Sue Grand Station under construction in 2019.]
Bang Sue will be replacing Hua Lamphong as the main station of Bangkok. Originally Hua Lamphong was going to close permanently and turned into a museum. It will be served by the SRT Dark Red line, but that is years away from being operational.
I’m interested to see what will happen to the area around Bang Sue. There are plans to turn it into a new central business district (images of which are in the article), but so far they haven’t found an interested developer. Bang Sue could end up becoming like Makkasan Station, which even before the pandemic was almost empty.
Whether the station becomes a vibrant hub like Tokyo Station (supposedly what it is modeled after) or ghostly like Makassan won’t be known for a few years after the pandemic is over. Either way, I’m excited about the prospect of one day being able to get a high-speed train from Bangkok to Luang Prabang.
Latest Posts At Future Southeast Asia
Updated Posts
Indonesia
Added to Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway
“According to Reuters, the government is evaluating how to make the unnamed new capital its candidate city for the 2032 Olympics, replacing Jakarta.”
Added to New Capital City of Indonesia
Laos
Added to China-Laos railway
Malaysia
“Malaysian state's offshore reclamation plans risk environmental disaster.”
Added to Penang South Islands
“The first of two tunnel boring machines (TBM) which will be used to start excavation works for the Genting Tunnel as part of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has arrived in Malaysian shores on July 4, 2021 as scheduled, after extensive factory tests in China.”
Added to East Coast Rail Link
Thailand
"Bidding for the two double-track railway projects worth 128 billion baht in the North and Northeast could be marred by alleged irregularities, a seminar was told."
Added to Chiang Rai Railway
Other News
Asia
Cambodia
“Seng Phen, a representative for Khun Sea Development, first denied involvement with the filling in of the river, but later admitted it was part of a 70-hectare development granted by the government. He said the new development would be a “Hong Kong-style” entertainment area costing $1.5 to $2 billion.”
And another article on the story…
“Residents living in Arey Ksat have been surprised to learn that a stretch of the Mekong is being filled in to pave the way for a 70-hectare satellite city developed by the Khun Sear Import Export Company, owned by the well-connected real estate tycoon Khun Sear.”
“The government has been discussing plans to turn three of the Kingdom’s cities into “smart cities”, more environmentally friendly urban hubs that improve the standard of living for locals and make them more attractive to tourists.”
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
“Once a bustling port of the British Empire, by the late 1960s George Town was a city in decline. But 1972 would prove to be the turning point for Penang, transforming the island once again into a Malaysian economic powerhouse.”
Philippines
“The Diocese of Kalookan and non-government organization Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation recently partnered to save the old La Loma Cemetery Chapel in Caloocan City from further deterioration.”
Singapore
A “then and now” from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
“Four decades ago, Changi Airport opened its doors to passengers. In its first year of operation, 4.3 million passengers passed through the airport.”
Thailand
“It will be part of Bang Na’s sprawling Megacity project.”
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