The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (GPS: 3.13969, 101.69364) is a major railway station in Kuala Lumpur. Located along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin (formerly known as Victory Avenue), it used to serve as the main terminus for trains in the Malay peninsula, until the opening of the KL Sentral Railway Station. The building is noted as a magnificent piece of architecture, and is one of the major landmarks of the city.
Train services using the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
Today the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station continues to receive Intercity train services on the North-South Line, which goes from Bangkok to Woodlands, and the KTM Komuter serves, namely the Seremban Line and the Port Klang Line.
On the North-South Line, the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is between the Rawang Railway Station and KL Sentral Railway Station, while on the Seremban Line and Port Klang Line, it is between the Bank Negara Komuter Station and KL Sentral Railway Station.
Public Transport service at Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
In addition to trains and taxi service, you can take the free GoKL City Bus out of the railway station, to visit various places of interest in Kuala Lumpur. Check out the link for details of stops for the bus.
By the way, local writers often incorrectly refer to the Mughal architecture as Moorish architecture. This is incorrect. The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback, who designed many of the now heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur. He had studied Mughal style in India, and his design often includes and chatris, features not found in the Moorish style of Spain. The architecture style is known as the Indo-Saracenic.
I photographed the railway station when I explored Kuala Lumpur on foot. I had some difficulties in getting the right angle and to find a proper vantage point, and hope the above photograph will give you a good idea how the building looks like.
The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station building was completed in 1911 when it began service as the central hub for all the trains of Keretapi Tanah Melayu, Malaya's rail system. It underwent refurbishment in 1986 with additional new facilities and buildings, including air-conditioned waiting halls, tourism information counters, snack bars and more. Sad to say, however, all the trains don't stop here anymore, except for to KTM Kommuter. The new kid on the block is KL Sentral, less than a kilometer away.
For the sake of its heritage value to Kuala Lumpur, I hope the authorities will make good use of this beautiful building. And if you ever visit this building, you should also visit the KTM Headquarters on the other side of the road.
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (8 February, 2006)
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (8 February, 2006)
Cupolas of the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (8 February, 2006)
Closer view of a cupola. (8 February, 2006)
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, as seen from Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin (8 February, 2006)
Façade of the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin. (11 July, 2016)
Driveway inside the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. (11 July, 2016)
Gates to the railway platform. (11 July, 2016)
The platforms at the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. (11 July, 2016)
Further Reading
1. I discovered this blog dedicated to the Hubbacks: https://www.thehubbacks.org/ so I decide to add the link here, for future reference on this historical personality.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.