Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (8 February 2006)

B. Melayu

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.

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is on the map of the Train Stations in and around the Klang Valley.

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.

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station Building

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is an icon of Kuala Lumpur for decades before the Petronas Twin Towers come into the picture. Located along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, it was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback (AB Hubback)¹, the same government architect who designed the Malayan Railway Headquarters Building across the road, and many of the landmark buildings of Mughal architecture in Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur's the Masjid Jamek, Old City Hall, Old High Court, Selangor Railway Office building (presently Textile Museum), Ipoh Railway Station, and Kuala Kangsar's Ubudiah Mosque.

The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is served by the KTM Komuter trains of the KTM Komuter Port Klang Line and KTM Komuter Seremban Line.

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.