Kuala Lumpur Railway Station or Stesen Keretapi Kuala Lumpur is a train station located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Completed in 1910 to replace an older station on the same site  and going to celebrate its 100 years honorable service. Not many aware that this station was a magnificent and the most beautiful noted to old day , the station was Kuala Lumpur’s railway hub in the city for the Federated Malay States Railway and Malayan Railway (Keretapi Tanah Melayu), before Kuala Lumpur Sentral assumed much of its role in 2001. The station is notable for it architecture, adopting a mixture of Eastern and Western designs

 

 KUALA LUMPUR RAILWAY STATION 100 YEARS

 
Officially known as Kuala Lumpur Station, this Moorish-style railway terminal was designed by the same architect for Masjid Jamek, A.B. Hubbock; in 1886. As Mr.Hubback had previously served the British administration in India before being transferred to Kuala Lumpur, his passion for Morish/Northern Indian designs are clearly reflected here. Not suprising then Kuala Lumpur’s Railway Station and Masjid Jamek have close resemblance. Its domes and minarets’ unique features make it one of the most phothograph railway station in the world. The station housed a linear set of halls with the platforms were out behind. 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.

 

 The building is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.The station is located along a road named Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, previously known as Victory Avenue, which in turn was part of Damansara Road. The station is located closely to the similarly designed Railway Administration Building, as well as the National Mosque and Dayabumi Complex. The Pasar Seni LRT station is located 400 metres away, across the Klang River.

 

 It is a very beautiful building. The building is about 100 years old in 2010 because it was built at 1910.  In 1986, it went under extensive renovations but now everything is finished. Now it has air-conditioned waiting hall, snack kiosks , tourism information booth and many more. In the past, it used be very quiet but since the Commuter service started, it is very busy. Very sadly, all the Intercity train services doesn’t stop here anymore because there is a new railway station opened called KL Sentral. Only Commuter train stops here. It is located less than 1KM away from the old railway station.

 

The old station first began operation in 1911. Station Hotel supervisor Anthony Kau said the Kuala Lumpur station, which exudes colonial charm, will still attract tourists.

 

It was extended in 1967 to accomodate the need for additional office space. The new extension also housed the Heritage Station Hotel at the station’s northern wing. In the 1980s extensive renovation was carried out to modernise the station but not at the expense of its original design which is still being preserved and not unnecessarily destroyed.

 

After 90 years, last train rolls into KL Railway Station with the opening of Kuala Lumpur’s integrated trains station and transport hub – KL Sentral – in 2001, all of the inter-city trains now use KL Sentral as their embarkation point, leaving only KTM Komuter trains and PLUSLiner coaches that still operate from this old railway station. However, plan is underway to turn the railway station into a tourist attraction heritage building.

 

As for the accomodation at railway station, The Heritage Station Hotel is perhaps the most stunning and extraordinary budget hotel in the whole of Malaysia! Located near the Kuala Lumpur Sultan Abdul Samad train station,at the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station the building itself is a piece of historical memento dating back to the early 20th century,  100 years since it was built.As one of the most distinctive Railway Station’s in the world, this building has been gazetted as a heritage site since 14 April 1983.

 

there are a 170 room budget hotel, in following the historical tradition of the railway station, offering basic necessities with no frills. All our rooms come attached with a private bathroom. In this hotel, you will experience the simpler lifestyle of yesteryears, long since forgotten as you engulf yourself in the past glories of Malaysia’s Historical Colonial Past.

 

 

Opened 1886
Rebuilt 1910
Electrified 1995
Code KLUMPUR (KTM Komuter)
Owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu

  

 

-Kuala Lumpur Railway Station History in detail:

 

Preceding stations
Prior to the construction of the current Kuala Lumpur station, two stations were already operational in the city.

 

The first Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, nicknamed Resident Station due to its proximity to the residence of the British Resident, was completed and located opposite to the Selangor Club towards the west. Constructed of wood and a nipah palm roof, the station was the first in Kuala Lumpur, linking Kuala Lumpur to Klang (Pengkalan Batu) via the first railway line to connect the city with the rest of the Malay Peninsula (officially inaugurated September 22, 1886).

 

The second station, Sultan Street Station, was constructed in 1892 at Foch Avenue (now Tun Tan Cheng Lock Road), close to the present Maybank Tower and Puduraya bus station. Its design was based on Resident Station, and was stationed along the Pudu railway line, a new line that branched off north from the 1910 station, and connected mines from Ampang to the city. The line was unique in that the initial leg of the track approaching Sultan Street Station from the main line was sandwiched between two carriageways of Foch Avenue, cutting across the east side of the city.

 

Resident Station was demolished after construction of the new Kuala Lumpur station was completed. Meanwhile, Sultan Street Station was replaced by a smaller terminal station when the tracks at Foch Avenue were dismantled for road traffic, and was demolished after 1960. The Ampang-linked route is partially reused by the Ampang rapid transit line.

 

Design, construction and operation
 
The frontal design of the station is comparable with that of local buildings in the same architectural style, such as the Jamek Mosque. Arthur Benison Hubback, a British Architectural Assistant to the Director of Public Works, undertook the design of the station. Having served in India, he utilised his knowledge of Anglo-Asian architecture in the region on the station’s design. The “Neo-Moorish/Mughal/Indo-Saracenic/Neo-Saracenic” style was not uncommon at the time. Similar structures, such as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (designed by A.C. Norman, completed 1895), the Old City Hall (designed by A.B. Hubback, completed 1904) and the Jamek Mosque (designed by A.B. Hubback, completed 1909), pre-date Kuala Lumpur station.

 

At a cost of RM23,000, the station was completed and operational on August 1, 1910. After the demolition of Resident Station and the isolation of Sultan Street Station, Kuala Lumpur Railway Station became the main railway station in Kuala Lumpur. A hotel, the Station Hotel (now the Heritage Station Hotel), occupies part of the station. In 1995, access to KTM Komuter services was introduced at the station.

 

After the diversion of long-distance intercity rail traffic on April 15, 2001 to Kuala Lumpur Sentral, less than a kilometer south, the original station’s importance diminished and redundant station facilities were withdrawn. While the side platforms of the station were raised to a height suitable for smooth embarking and disembarking from KTM Komuter trains, the current configuration of the platforms and access to services meant that the original station could not be maximised for use as a transportation stop for KTM Komuter passengers (see platform). The entire station is still served by both KTM Komuter and goods services.

 

In months leading up to August 31, 2007, the 50th anniversary of Malaya’s independence, various sources reported the transfer of various old railway equipment from a railway warehouse in Klang and a few other locations to the old Kuala Lumpur station. This included a small restored shunter and an antique fire engine. The station was officially reopened on August 31, 2007 as a railway museum (where exhibitions are placed in the main hall and platform of the station), and is currently mooted as a cultural centre.

 

Renovations, upgrades and changes
 
The interior of the station’s main hall (depicted as of March 2007) underwent significant refurbishment in 1986, which saw some of its original interiors altered and modernised. The area has since been used to house exhibits after the station was designated a railway museum.The station has undergone several major changes in its more recent history. The north wing was converted for office use by 1967, closing off the arched verandahs with windows. In 1986, the station was more extensively refurbished, with the interior and relevant windows replaced with modern counterparts while the exterior was repaired and preserved, and additional new facilities and buildings, including air-conditioned waiting halls, tourism information counters and snack bars. Parts of the station’s original interior designs and frames are still present in the Heritage Station Hotel.

 

The refurbishment also saw an additional extension built on the south wing of the building, sporting “Raj” stylings that dominates much of the building, and the addition of a frontal facade for the north wing that sports similar architectural elements, masking hints of Western designs from the front. These changes resulted in the building sporting two additional chhatris, two on the corner of each wing, alongside the original four.

 

Other modifications made onto the old building included the rear wall of the station carved open and extended to accommodate a new station entrance, taxi stops, several office and retail spaces, while additional double-storey retail spaces were constructed over one of the two adjacent frontal access roads to the main building.

 

The 1986 remodelling also saw platform extensions to the north and a new station building in the area, which connected to the General Post Office at the then newly completed Dayabumi complex (constructed 1982 to 1984).

 

When KTM Komuter services were launched in 1995 to serve the Rawang-Seremban Route and the Sentul-Port Klang Route, ticket counters and faregates were added to the station, in common with other KTM Komuter stations. The location of Komuter facilities meant that only the newer island platform could be used by KTM Komuter trains .

 

After Kuala Lumpur Sentral assumed the responsibility of receiving intercity operations, portions of station facilities designated for intercity services were decommissioned or removed.

 

Platforms
 
The original platforms of the station retain some older features, such as the large steel-framed shelters.The station contains three raised platforms serving four railway lines, consisting two side platforms (platforms 1 and 4) on both sides and one island platform (platforms 2 and 3) in between. Extension platforms added in 1986 are assigned additional “a” suffixes, i.e. Platform 2a for the extension of the original platform 2.

 

Prior to the opening of Kuala Lumpur Sentral, the platforms were designated the following roles:

 

The station’s side platforms were typically assigned to cater Intercity train services. As such, ticket counters for the train services were located within the old and new stations. With Intercity services shifted to Kuala Lumpur Sentral, passenger traffic at the platform has virtually disappeared. The platforms are still used to transfer goods to and from trains. The side platforms, like the ground level of the station building, are open to the public.
The station’s island platform is typically assigned to cater KTM Komuter services from both the Rawang-Seremban and Sentul-Port Klang Routes, as KTM Komuter ticket counters and faregates to and from KTM Komuter services are connected to it.
In addition, the old island platform remains at its original height as it was when the station was built, significantly lower than the island platform extension and doorways of the commuter trains, an inconvinience to passengers entering and exiting Komuter trains. Accordingly, KTM Komuter trains typically stop at the new platforms, prompting passengers to leave the station via the newer, northern exit.

 

Architecture
 
The station extension added during the 1986 renovation assumes a more contemporary appearance. The outstanding pillar in the foreground is of a 2006 addition of canopy roofs.Kuala Lumpur Railway Station initially consisted of a main terminal building at the front and three platforms serving four railway lines at the back.

 

The main structure, which contains a main hall, ticket counters and offices, is primarily designed in a “Raj” styling, mixture of Western and Mughal similar to Moorish Revival or Indo-Saracenic architecture, which enjoyed brief popularity in late-19th century and early 20th century colonial India, as well as Europe and the. Dominated by horseshoe and ogee arches, and large chhatris (six originally, with two added later) at the corners of the building accompanying smaller variations at the front, the station is comparable to the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and surrounding structures constructed around the Merdeka Square during the period. In addition to the main station building, a three-storey addition at the north wing was added early in its operation, adopting Westernised vernacular designs with surrounding venrendahs and segmental arches of various widths. The facade of the station is completely plastered, as opposed to buildings of similar styles that opt for exposed brickwork, and painted in light colours (usually white or cream) throughout its service.

 

The platforms are covered by large steel-framed shelters, which were initially shorter during the station’s early operation. The roofs were originally glazed, and were partially opened to allow smoke from steam locomotives to escape; corrugated roof sheets served as replacements later in the station’s life. The sides of the platforms not adjoining the main building are surrounded by walls constructed in the same style as the main building. The platforms and main building are linked to each other via two underground passageways.

 

The design of the extended platform for the 1986 refurbishment of the station took a more modernist approach, consisting simply of large concrete pillars supporting a latticed roof and a ticket office on concrete slabs at the north end, suspended two stories above ground. White walls and arches that serve as decorations to the extension are more alike that of the Dayabumi complex than the original station. The new extension is connected to Dayabumi via an elevated walkway.

 

source wiki.