Assessing Potential and Development Strategies for the Transfer Hub between the Nakhon Ratchasima High-Speed Rail Station and the Urban Mass Transit Green Line Terminal

Abstract

Transit-oriented Development (TOD) constitutes a key spatial planning strategy for advancing the development of Thailand’s mass transit network. Although in 2021 the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) completed a master plan study for the development of areas surrounding mass transit stations, which classified 177 TOD types in accordance with the nationwide rail transit network, there remains a lack of in-depth spatial planning analysis to inform strategies for the development of these station areas. The objective of this research is to investigate the physical components of the area surrounding the Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail station, serving as a preliminary assessment to inform spatial planning strategies for the development of mass transit station areas. The research was conducted in four stages: (1) a literature review to identify and classify relevant physical components; (2) spatial data collection for the area surrounding the Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail station; (3) evaluation of the TOD characteristics at the transfer hub connecting the Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail station with the main railway station of the urban mass transit Green Line; and (4) formulation of development guidelines for the areas surrounding the transfer hub. The findings indicate that the proposed development of the transport interchange area linking the Nakhon Ratchasima High-Speed Rail station with the Green Line urban mass transit terminal exhibits substantial potential to function as a central business district–level Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). The pedestrian network component approaches the benchmark standards typically associated with urban cores, although further qualitative refinements in network integration may enhance its overall performance. Other critical elements, including the intensification of building density and the diversification of land use and building functions, could be effectively facilitated through targeted urban planning mechanisms to advance the area’s physical and spatial development.