Thon Buri railway station

Thon Buri railway station (Thai: สถานีรถไฟธนบุรี) or Bangkok Noi railway station (สถานีรถไฟบางกอกน้อย) in the past, is a railway station in Siriraj Sub-district, Bangkok Noi District, Bangkok. It is a class 1 railway station and is the current terminus of the Thon Buri Branch Line. Near the station is a railway depot that keeps five functional steam locomotives operable for four special occasions. Thon Buri station is the only station in Bangkok that has railway semaphore signals (although unused) still present on the station grounds.

Thon Buri railway station

สถานีรถไฟธนบุรี
Thon Buri Station, viewed facing west towards the mainline
LocationRotfai Road, Siriraj Subdistrict, Bangkok Noi District, Bangkok
Owned byState Railway of Thailand
Line(s)SRT Thon Buri Line
Platforms2
Tracks5
Other information
Station codeธบ.
ClassificationClass 1
History
Opened1999
Services
Preceding station   State Railway of Thailand   Following station
TerminusSouthern Line
Thon Buri Line
toward Taling Chan

History

Originally, the station's location was at Bangkok Noi railway station. It opened in 1903 as a terminus for all Southern Line services. The station was the site of the 0 km mark for the Southern Line. During World War II it was bombed by the Allies as it was a Japanese logistical centre. After the war, the station was rebuilt and was named Thon Buri, opening in 1950. Over the years, Thon Buri Station's role as a major terminal faded as most train services moved to terminate at Bangkok railway station, leaving only ordinary and commuter trains to end here.

In 1999, Chuan Leekpai started a project to renovate the Thon Buri Station area, so a temporary railway station (class 4) was built at the present-day location, about 800 metres from the original location. This station was to be called Bangkok Noi Station. The original Thon Buri Station still opened for ticketing, but passengers boarded at the temporary station. Later events were to end this arrangement.

During Thaksin Shinawatra's government, trains continued services to the original Thon Buri Station. Then the land around the original Thon Buri railway station was granted to the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital. As a result, on 4 October 2003, services to the original Thon Buri Station stopped completely. The station building was given to Mahidol University, and all services were changed to terminate at Bangkok Noi Station. On 1 January 2004, Bangkok Noi railway station was renamed Thon Buri, and the station's class 4 status was upgraded to class 1.

In 2015, the original Thon Buri railway station building houses the Siriraj Phimukhsthan Museum. The former temporary station is now the station in use. Despite fewer trains on the Southern Line terminating here compared to Bangkok, all distances along the Southern Line still refer to this station as kilometre 0.

Services
  • Ordinary 254/255 Lang Suan-Thon Buri-Lang Suan
  • Ordinary 257/258 Thon Buri-Nam Tok-Thon Buri
  • Ordinary 259/260 Thon Buri-Nam Tok-Thon Buri
  • Ordinary 351/352 Thon Buri-Ratchaburi-Thon Buri
  • Commuter 919/920 [1,2,3,4,5] Thon Buri-Salaya-Thon Buri (runs multiple times per day)

References
    • "รถไฟสายใต้ ช่วงแรกจากบางกอกน้อยถึงเพชรบุรี" [South railway line from Bangkok to Phetchaburi first period]. เล่าสู่กันฟัง การงาน ท่องเที่ยว ฯ (in Thai). 1 August 2010.
    • 柿崎一郎 (2010). 王国の鉄路 タイ鉄道の歴史 (in Japanese). 京都大学学術出版会. ISBN 978-4-87698-848-8.
    • "(untitled)". Rotfaithai.com.

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