10 Most Beautiful Railway Stations of the World

10 Most Beautiful Railway Stations of the World

  We have all spent more time than we care to remember in stations waiting for missed connections or delayed trains. After the obligatory cup of tea there is not much else to keep you entertained except huddling from the inevitable rain in the waiting room which, despite the ban, still has a hint of stale smoke.

But there are railway stations around the world that offer more than hot beverages and gloomy stationary stores. Here I have compiled some of the most beautiful railway stations of the world. I hope you will like it.

Union Station

Union Station in Los Angeles, California, which opened in May 1939, is known as the “Last of the Great Railway Stations” built in the United States.

Beijing West railway station

Beijing’s West Railway Station is located in western Beijing. Opened in early 1996 after three years of construction, it is the largest railway station in Asia.

Grand Central Station

Grand Central Terminal is a terminal station at Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms 44, with 67 tracks along them.

Wellington Station

Wellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand’s North Island Main Trunk railway. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand’s busiest railway station.

Shanghai Railway Station

Shanghai Railway Station is the main railway station in Shanghai. It is one of the top class railway stations in China. Its passenger traffic is heaviest at all railway stations in Shanghai.

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was completed in 1910 to replace an older station on the same site. The station is notable for its architecture, adopting a mixture of Eastern and Western designs.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

It is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Designed by the Hamburg architecture firm it began full operation in May 2006. The station serves an estimated 1,800 trains and 350,000 passengers per day.

Union Station Washington DC

Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, D.C., when it opened in 1908. It is one of the busiest and best-known places in Washington, D.C., visited by 32 million people each year.

Gare du Nord, Paris

Gare du Nord offers connections with several urban transportation lines. By the number of travelers it is the busiest railway station in Europe and one of the busiest in the world.

Kiev Passenger Railway Station

Kiev Passenger Railway Station is Kiev’s main passenger railway station, serving more than 170,000 passengers per day. The station provides long-distance service including international, and a short-distance service to nearby regions.

Author Ahsan Mukhtar

Bella Sky Hotel’s

Bella Sky Hotel’s Leaning Towers / 3XN

BY: ANDREW MICHLER | JULY - 22 - 2010

As a part of the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark the signature Bella Sky Hotel is currently under construction. The towers lean 15 degrees in opposite directions to provide views for all the rooms but still alolows the towers to share a common footprint. Being located adjacent to Copenhagen Airport 3XN Architects had to design two 75m tall (25 floors) towers rather than a single tower to accommodate 800 rooms .

The 42,000 square meter facility is intended to provide a landmark status for Bella Center, host to many international events. A turn on the top floors of the towers is designed to lower wind turbulence around the structures and soften the angularity. The fenestration is angled with the towers lean, an effect enhanced from the interior view. The Bella Hotel recalls the Puerta de Europa twin towers in Madrid, only at a larger scale, becoming the largest hotel in Nordic Europe. Expected to top out this summer the first phase of the Bella Hotel will be completed in spring 2011.