Rangsit

This article is about the city in Pathum Thani Province. For other uses, see Rangsit (disambiguation).

Rangsit (Thai: รังสิต, pronounced [rāŋ.sìt]) is a city and neighbourhood in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. Rangsit is a metropolitan city that supports the expansion of Bangkok in the north. Rangsit has become a departure point for travel to provinces in north, northeast, and eastern Thailand.

Rangsit รังสิต
City Municipality
City of Rangsit เทศบาลนครรังสิต
Zpell, part of Future Park Rangsit
Flag Seal
Rangsit Location in Thailand
Coordinates: 13°59′0″N 100°37′0″E
Country	Thailand
Province	Pathum Thani
District	Thanyaburi
Government
• Type	City Municipality
• Mayor	Treelup Thupkrachang
Area
• Total	20.80 km2 (8.03 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	79,319
• Density	3,813.41/km2 (9,876.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Postcode	12130
Area code	(+66) 2
Website	rangsit.org

Rangsit is the home of Rangsit University.^[1] It is also the provenance of Rangsit campus of Thammasat University.

History

In the past, the area of Rangsit was a vast field, covering the area from the north of Bangkok, Pathum Thani to Saraburi and the east side of the Chao Phraya River was called "Thung Luang" (ทุ่งหลวง, refers to large field), with an area of approximately 2,000 km^² (about 772 mi^²).

At that time, it was a place of habitat for many kinds of wildlife, such as wild elephants, therefore called "Tha Khlong" (ท่าโขลง, refers to pier of herd of elephants) in another name. There were often wild elephants from Khao Yai living there. In addition, it was also the only habitat in the world of Schomburgk's deer (Rucervus schomburgki) an extinct medium-sized deer.

Until the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in middle Rattanakosin period, Thailand's first irrigation canal was dug through the area, it was called "Khlong Rangsit" in honour of his son, Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi, Prince of Chainat. This caused Rangsit to become an agricultural area especially in rice cultivation and various kinds of fruits such as tangerine and brought more prosperity to Rangsit.^[2]

Transportation

The area is served by Rangsit station on the SRT's Northern Line and Dark Red Line. The main roads are Phahonyothin Road and Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.

In terms of travel, Rangsit is a hub for travel from the Bangkok Metropolitan Region to various regions including the central, northern and Isan.