Ayutthaya High-Speed Rail Station’s roof structure reduced to preserve the value of the original Ayutthaya Railway Station
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will reduce the height of the Ayutthaya High-Speed Rail Station’s roof structure to preserve the value of the original Ayutthaya Railway Station, following the advice of the World Heritage Committee’s advisory body.
SRT governor Veeris Ammarapala revealed yesterday that SRT officials had visited Ayutthaya province from Monday to Wednesday, along with experts from the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), including Michael Pearson, a representative of the advisory bodies of the World Heritage Committee.
The purpose of the visit was to assess the cultural and physical impact of the high-speed rail project on the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a Unesco World Heritage site.
The delegation visited key heritage sites and historic landmarks, such as Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, the Ayutthaya Railway Station, Wat Phanan Choeng, and the Japanese Village, among others. They will synthesise data on landscape, urban development, tourism, and traffic before presenting it to the World Heritage Committee.
“The World Heritage Committee’s advisory body has concluded that the State Railway of Thailand should reduce the height of the Ayutthaya High-Speed Rail Station’s roof structure so that it does not overshadow the original Ayutthaya Railway Station and to preserve its historical value,” Mr Veeris said.
He said the SRT had acknowledged these recommendations and would use the suggestions to prepare a heritage impact assessment (HIA) report, which will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre.
Currently, the Ayutthaya section of the Sino-Thai high-speed rail project, spanning 13.3 kilometres with a budget of over 10.3 billion baht, has been halted pending the HIA report.
Expected changes to the Ayutthaya station include reducing the station height from 37.45 to 35.45 metres and the track elevation from 19m to 17m. He noted this is to reduce the impact on the scenery of the World Heritage site.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2947117/ayutthaya-high-speed-rail-still-on-track
