Railway Stations, Kuala Lumpur

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Now only used for commuter trains this was the main rail station in KL until the building of the new Sentral station. Spires and arches look great from the outside and in truth that's the best view, nothing too interesting inside. worth a visit.

This railway station, simply called Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, was KL's main transport hub for decades. Today, it is a station which only sees limited commuter train service. However, its architectural splendor makes it a popular tourist attraction. The KL Railway Station was built in 1910 by Arthur Benison Hubbock and was restored in the 1986. Althogh the interior has modern facilities for today's travel needs, many parts of the building have maintained their early 20th century colonial flair. This does not only contain wooden structures inside the buildings, but occasional exhibits showing the history of train travel in Malaysia. There is a hotel within the building which was once a popular place with railway workers, became later a luxury hotel and is now a 2-star-hotel with mixed reviews.
Although many of Hubbock's buildings show a mix of Western and Islamic architecture, the style of this building is predominantly Moorish. For a building with a more equilibrate balance between Western and Islamic styles, check out the railway administration building on the other side of the road. It was finished in 1917 and was designed by A.B. Hubbock too. For a good photo perspective, use the underground tunnel that links both buildings.

The KL Railway Building and the Malayan Railway Administration Building face each other across a busy road. Both buildings are in Moorish style and look like exotic multi-roofed palaces.

The Railway Station was built in1911 by AB Hubbock. The building has recently been restored and has a lovely atmospheric cafe inside.

There is an underpass to cross to the Malayan Railway Administration Building. We took a peek inside and it was really beautiful.

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Kuala Lumpur's Old Railway Station is a magnificent piece of architecture, and the icon of Kuala Lumpur for decades before the Petronas Twin Towers come into the picture. It was designed by Arthur Benison Hubbock (AB Hubbock), the same government architect who designed most of the distinctive buildings of Mughal architecture in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur's Masjid Jamek, Old City Hall, Old High Court, Selangor Railway Office building (presently Textile Museum), Ipoh's railway station, and Kuala Kangsar's Ubudiah Mosque.

Completed in 1910 to replace an older station on the same site, the station was Kuala Lumpur's railway hub in the city for the Federated Malay States Railway and Malayan Railway before Kuala Lumpur Sentral assumed much of its role in 2001, so not many trains actually stop here anymore. It underwent refurbishment in 1986 with additional new facilities and buildings, including air-conditioned waiting halls, tourism information counters, snack bars and more.

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I like the Old Railway Station. I've stayed at the Heritage Station Hotel and have, on other visits to KL, still visited the station and small museum (you can walk to Central Markets or Chinatown quite easily from here).

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is a wonderful piece of architecture, and was the icon of Kuala Lumpur before the Petronas Twin Towers.

The station was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback (AB Hubback), the same government architect who designed most of the distinctive buildings of Mughal architecture in Malaysia so you can see examples of his work in many places - in KL I think this is the best. It was opened in 1910, and was then known as Federated Malayan States Railway.

Much of the building is made out of wood, with minimal use of stone and cement. All the building materials were brought in directly from England. There are pictorials and train exhibits in the station .

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Moorish-style designed KL Railway Station was built in 1886.
Near by can be found many famous parks and museums such as the National Mosque, Islamic Museum, Birds /Butterfly /Deer /Orchids /Hibiscus Parks.

The Old Railway Staion is really pretty to look at when travelling around downtown Kuala Lumpur as it is located at one of the entrance to the Federal Expressway from KL to Petaling Jaya/Shah Alam and Klang.

You can take the Rawang Komuter train and stop here. The next building to it is also of Moorish style and worth a digital shot for memory.

This Railway Station was busy in the early days of newly independent Malaysia when the highways were not built and driving frim Penang to Kuala Lumpur would take eight long tiring hours behind slow lorries.

The new railway station is KL Sentral.

Malay Railway Administration Building

This Moorish building sits at a hotspot of Kuala Lumpur. It is located next to the National Mosque and opposite the Main (Old) Railway Station. The railway station and the administration building are even connected by a subterranean link. Whereas the station went into service in 1911 the administration building was only finished in 1917. Both were designed by the English architect Arthur Benison Hubbock.

It is a blend of various architectural and cultural styles, and is dominated by five domes. The style is similar to the Railway Station, some features are even identical, but as the colours are much darker and duller, and the domes sit directly on the building and not held by thinnish columns, it looks much more massive, not as airy and lightweight as its fancy counterpart.

The Main Railway Station on the other side of the street is a picturesque blend of towers, domes, minarets and arches in Arabic style. The contrast of the exterior and interior could not be bigger, as the hall looks like many Victorian railway stations in England.

The railway station includes a post office, several restaurants and a hotel (Station Hotel). Service started in August 1910. Renovations in 1986 took the building back to its former glory. But the station is used less as KL Sentral has overtaken all major operations.

In a travel guide I read a funny story about the building process: The work was stopped because the roof did not apply to English standards. Those include that a roof has to be solid enough to stand the pressure of one metre of snow LOL