Railway Station Designs: Doing It With Style

Railway stations throughout the world have been used by their builders to show off many different styles of construction. A quick browse through these styles is as good as a basic introduction to classical architecture.

Station buildings range from the Baroque style in the unlikely setting of Hsinchu Station in Taiwan, to the Corinthian pillars of Gare De Nord, Paris and the Gothic revival architecture of Bombay. Each of these buildings is a work of art in itself.

Here a few more unusual architectural styles applied to railway stations:

Tangjong Pagar Railway Station, Singapore

This very old railways station has the honor of being considered one of the best places in Singapore for Malaysian food, especially satay. People come here to eat as well as to travel. The building was completed in 1932 and it has a fine domed roof. There is Malaysian artwork on the panelling around the inside.

Helsinki Central Station, Finland

There are nineteen platform inside this station which is faced with granite give a cold, hard kind of look to it. The statues outside have recently been featured in an animation to promote rail travel in Finland. The original station was built in 1860 and it was redesigned in 1909 as can be seen in the almost art nouveau design of the central curved section.

Napoli-Afragola Railway Station, Naples, Italy

This new high speed station is a bridge above the tracks. It is a massive transport interchange that acts as a gateway to Naples and a major city landmark which provides a train station for high speed and regional services, bus, taxi and car parking facilities. There are retail facilities here as well as police and fire stations and the whole structure covers around 20,000 square meters. This fabulous, ultra modern construction was designed by Patrick Schumacher and Zaha Hadid Architects.

Gare de Nord Railway Station, Paris, France

Inside this fantastic building are a series of Corinthian columns made of cast iron. These support a thirty eight metre high glass roof . There are nine statues in the station which represent nine important places that can be reached from the station. The architecture here is a real mixture of styles and the grace and elegance of the original curved roof has been spoiled by alterations made in the 1930's.

Hualampong Station, Bangkok, Thailand

Click Here for a Panoramic Photo!

This railway station was built fourteen years after railways were first introduced to Thailand. It was finished in 1916 and had taken 7 years to build. It was modernized in 1998 and is now extremely busy with twenty four ticket windows and a computerized booking system. The original architecture has been preserved well in spite of the modernization.

Here are some more railway stations that combine the best in good taste and aesthetic functionability:

Paddington Cathedral

Todays more visited cathedrals in the UK are the railway terminii. Squeaky clean with an almost a religious fanaticism these are a melting pot of people from around the world.

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Haydarpasa Terminal

The first station there was built in 1872 when the railroad was opened to Gebze.

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Docklands Light Railway (Wall of Light)

One of the first light rail systems in Britain, with one of the world’s safest and most advanced automatic train control systems, DLR has expanded faster than any UK railway.

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Almere Centrum, The Netherlands

The railway station Almere Centrum was built in 1987, when Almere was connected to the Dutch railway system.

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Ano Lechonia

Ano Lechonia is another of the villages where de Chirico built railway stations.

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Light Of A West Civilization

Main Railway Station, Berlin, Germany.

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South Wimbledon

The London Underground was the first underground railway in the world.

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Gare de Lyon

Wonderful contrast of architectural order and human chaos.

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Milan Train Station at Midnight

Impressive station!

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Mystery Train

A train passes through Lisbon's wonderful Oriente Station, designed by Santiago Calatrava.

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Waiting...

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Tokyo: Ochanomizu

The train tracks are crossing on three different levels.

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Foggy Bottom: GWU

The elevators at the George Washington University station.

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Candidplatz

Subway station "Candidplatz" in Munich, Germany.

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Ladvi metro station, Prague

Dynamic, futuristic, and sheer artistry.

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Gare Désafectée Railway Station

Some railway stations still have a ways to go...

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Amazing Railway Station Design

This incredible piece of team work helped these designers win 2nd prize for their design.

You see, waiting in a train station is not so bad after all!