Phnom Penh Railway Station to Become New Commercial Centre

The French-architecture styled railway station in Phnom Penh will become an attractive commercial building after foreign investors from the United States announced they would inject investment to renovate the building to become commercial centre named Royal Train Square.

The announcement was recently made by the investors who said Royal Train Square will become an attractive commercial area.

The Royal Train Square building will be renovated in the upcoming months, according to a report in Khmer Times in early June.

Built in the French colonial era, the station now sports a big billboard advertising Royal Train Square over its main gate.

Following an investment of US$5 million, Royal Train Square will give people a “new place to meet, dine and relax in beautiful surroundings”, Mr Scott Bolls, the principal lead on the project said, adding that it will feature high-end cafes, restaurants and shops.

“With the emergence of Phnom Penh’s central business district it is the right time to bring the railway station into the 21st century as a destination for all residents of the capital and visitors to come and unwind in a breath-taking location,” Khmer Times quoted Mr Bolls as saying in the report.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport could not give comments on the project of renovating the railway station.

“[I] don’t know clearly about the project to renovate the railway station to be a mall. It is the decision of the company because the government granted the concession to the company [Royal Railway] so all decisions depend on the company,” the ministry’s spokesman H.E Vasim Sorya said.

Under the management of Royal Railway, the railway station offered rail services from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanoukville province and from Phnom Penh to Poipet city.

The company also launched an air shuttle service from the railway station to Phnom Penh International Airport.

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