New Lopburi Railway Bypass will be 10-20 metres high and 19 kilometres long

As part of the double tracking project between Lopburi and Pak Nam Pho, the State Railway of Thailand had to build an elevated bypass to the west of the city. This is due to not being able to expand the width used by the tracks through the city as it already runs close to Phra Prang Sam Yot and other historical sites.

The bypass to the west of the city, see map above, is 29 kilometres long with 19 kilometres being elevated. It is an average of 10-20 metres high. This is said to be the longest elevated railway in Thailand outside of Greater Bangkok. The highest elevated railway will be the new viaduct being built in Muak Lek in Saraburi. The starting point is at Ban Klap Railway Station with a ground level distance of approximately 5.7 kilometers. At the far end, where it returns to ground level, it runs for a distance of approximately 4.3 kilometers, before joining the original railway line before entering Khok Katiam Station.

The railway bypass has one new station called Lopburi 2 Station. This is an elevated station above Highway 366. There will be a shuttle bus between this station and the old one in the city. The elevated station is for long distance trains, and cargo trains that don’t need to stop inside the city. The old Lopburi station will remain open and will be for local trains including Bangkok to Lopburi trains. The old station will also be used by tourist trains such as the Kiha-183 excursion train.

Construction is expected to be finished by the end of this year. Once signaling has been installed, the line should be open to rail traffic next year sometime.