Hua Lamphong railway station
railway station in Thailand
Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) railway station (Thai: สถานีกรุงเทพ (หัวลำโพง), RTGS: Sathani Krung Thep (Hua Lamphong)) is a railway station in Pathum Wan, the former central passenger terminal in Bangkok and the former railway hub of Thailand. It is in the center of the city in the Pathum Wan district, and is operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). Long distance trains moved to the new central station at Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in 2023.
Naming
The station was officially referred to by the State Railway of Thailand as Bangkok railway station or Sathani Rotfai Krung Thep (สถานีรถไฟกรุงเทพ) in Thai. Hua Lamphong (Thai: หัวลำโพง) was originally the informal name of the station, used by locals, tourist guides and the public press. In all documents published by the State Railway of Thailand (such as train tickets, timetables, and tour pamphlets) the station is uniformly transcribed as Krungthep (กรุงเทพ) in Thai. As of 19 January 2023, following the opening of Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, the station was officially renamed Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) railway station.
The name Hua Lamphong is the name of both a canal and a road (now filled as Rama IV Road) that used to pass near this station. The name Hua Lamphong, some say originated from the green plains surrounding the area in the past that were used to graze the cattle of the Muslim community, when the people saw the cattle running vigorously in the plains, it was named the Thung Wua Lamphong ('swaggering bulls plains'), eventually being called Hua Lamphong. Others presumed that the name originated from a species of plant called Lamphong (Datura metel), a toxic plant that used to grow abundantly in the area.
The public source identifies “Hua Lamphong railway station” as railway station in Thailand. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lamphong, railway and station.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hua Lamphong railway station”, the useful work is to connect “railway station in Thailand” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q125929. Authority coordinates are 13.739, 100.517. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hua Lamphong railway station”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hua Lamphong railway station primary sources, Hua Lamphong railway station archive and Lamphong research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Hua Lamphong railway station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.