National Book Fair’s next stop? Bang Sue Grand Station

For the first time, Thailand’s national book fair will take place inside Bangkok’s newly opened railway hub.

Two months from now, the Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok’s Chatuchak area will host the thousands of publishers, booksellers and bibliophiles who usually crowd into the downtown convention center.

About 40% of the sprawling station’s 50,000sqm will be used for the fair under terms approved by the State Railway earlier this week. Its governor, Nirut Maneepan, said it was an opportunity for the cavernous transit cathedral, which is slated to replace century-old Hua Lamphong, to be promoted to the public. Before the pandemic, the national book fair welcomed tens of thousands of visitors daily.

It usually takes place downtown at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, which has been all but demolished and rebuilt. For the past two years, the…