Transportation minister U-turns on Hua Lamphong station

Hua Lamphong was granted a reprieve when Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob made the decision to temporarily scrap a prepare to shut Bangkok’s iconic railway station.

The minister ordered the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to continue services at Hua Lamphong for at the very least yet another month, in accordance to a statement from the Business of Transport and Visitors Policy and Organizing issued on Monday.

Mr Saksayam held a meeting to explore the Crimson Line, Bang Sue Grand Station and Hua Lamphong station and then issued a two-page push launch — with the spotlight in the last paragraph.

The minister purchased the SRT “to continue the operations of all trains to and from Bangkok Station (Hua Lamphong)… and notify the public and passengers about the conclusion,” the press release explained.

Mr Saksayam said a transportation infrastructure affect analyze — together with Hua Lamphong — would be conducted and the results unveiled in 30 times.

The railway agency prepared to close Hua Lamphong on Dec 23 and divert all trains to Bang Sue, the planned railway hub for all trains, together with upcoming significant-speed trains.

The decline-ridden SRT wished to create Hua Lamphong, a person of the most wonderful stations in the state, into a business location that it hoped could carry the company out of the purple.

The system ran into general public opposition from commuters who count on low-cost trains from suburban areas to work and study in Bangkok just about every working day, as properly as railway enthusiasts who vow to avert the station from slipping into the hands of significant business.

Persons have been flocking to Hua Lamphong in purchase to get pics right before the landmark station’s scheduled closure on Dec 23.