Sign of corruption? Thai railway says 33M baht to change station name totally normal

Days after coming under fire for spending an exorbitant sum to replace a large sign at Bangkok’s new passenger rail hub, the state railway on Tuesday rejected any suggestions of corruption.

The state railway on Tuesday afternoon said there was nothing improper about spending THB33.2 million (US$969,000) replace a large sign at the Bang Sue Grand Station.

“The project operated in accordance with the government procurement procedures,” it said in a statement. “It takes into account the utilization, budget value, engineering principles, structure safety, the people, and its success in becoming a major regional rail hub.”

Bang Sue Grand Station will officially open Jan. 19 when the first train runs at 1:19pm. Dozens of trains will be relocated from the century-old Bangkok Railway Station, aka Hua Lamphong, to the new rail system hub billed as the largest…