Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal: The center of rail transportation in Thailand
When we look at ways we can travel around Bangkok and its vicinity, public transport is one of the best modes of transport, such as buses, trains, and subways. At present, the services are being developed and expanded to support the service for people connecting from the suburbs to the city.
Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal was originally called Bang Sue Central Station, and it will become the largest rail transportation hub. In addition to being the main train station for long-distance train services, replacing Bangkok Station (Hua Lamphong), it also supports the Dark Red Line (Bang Sue - Rangsit) and the Light Red Line (Bang Sue - Taling Chan) suburban trains run by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). It is also a connection point for the MRT Blue Line and in the future will also support high-speed train services.
The station began service in 2021 with the opening of the Dark Red Line suburban train service (Bang Sue - Rangsit).
On 19 January 2023, SRT opened Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal as the main station for long-distance train services, special express trains, express trains, rapid cars, and the Northern, Northeastern and Southern lines, with a total of 52 trains. The departure destination stations replacing Bangkok Station (Hua Lamphong) are as follows:
Northern Line, 14 trains
Train No. 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 51, 52, 102, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112
Northeastern Line, 18 trains
Trains 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 71, 72, 75, 76, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 142
Southern Line, 20 trains
Train No. 31, 32, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 83, 84, 85, 86, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172
Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal is the largest train station in Thailand and ASEAN, with a total area of 2,475 rai (4.4 sq km) (including surrounding areas), 24 platforms divided into suburban trains (four platforms), long-distance trains (eight platforms), high-speed trains (10 platforms), and another two platforms for the Airport Rail Link and high-speed train linking three airports, and it can support a total passenger capacity of approximately 624,000 per day (by the year 2032).
In addition, it is also a point that connects other forms of travel, as it is near the Bangkok Bus Terminal (Mo Chit), near the Si Rat - Outer Ring Road Expressway, only 1 kilometer away from the BTS Green Line to the east or the MRT Purple Line to the west, and it connects to the MRT Blue Line station.