Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, literally Stesen Keretapi Kuala Lumpur in Malay, is a colossal train station located in the garden city of Malaysia. It is one of the historical buildings in the city which still attract historians and tourists to this place. The building with Moorish architecture design was completed in the year 1910 as a hub for Malaya's rail transportation system. It has tall minarets and arches that are still in good condition today.
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In 1910, the station was built to replace an older station (Resident Station) on the same site. It remained the KL's railway hub for the Federated Malay States Railway and Malayan Railway, prior to the initiation of Kuala Lumpur Sentral that assumed much of the its role in 2001. KL Railway Station is noteworthy for its architecture, with a concoction of Eastern and Western designs.
Located along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin (earlier called Victory Avenue), it is close to the Railway Administration Building, the National Mosque and Dayabumi Complex. On Aug' 1910, the station started its operations after getting constructed at a cost of RM 23,000. After serving populace for years, the fatigued station got a major facelift in 1986.
At that time, the station was extensively refurbished along with the interiors, while its windows were restored with modern counterparts. Its façade was repaired and conserved, whilst new facilities and buildings, like air-conditioned waiting halls, tourism information counters and snack bars, were added. A few of the station's original interior designs and frames are still there in the Heritage Station Hotel. In 1995, when KTM Komuter services were launched to cater the Rawang-Seremban Route and the Sentul-Port Klang Route, the station saw construction of ticket counters and fare gates.
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, originally, had a main terminal building at the front and three platforms serving four railway lines in back. The main structure has influences of Western and Mughal architectural styles. Like Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the structure is dominated by horseshoe and ogee arches, and big chhatris. The station's platforms are roofed by large steel-framed shelters, which were glazed and partially opened initially. The platforms' sides were not adjoined to the main building, rather were surrounded by walls.
The platforms and main building are connected to each other through two underground passageways. During 1986 renovation, the design of the extended platform adopted a modernist approach, and comprised large concrete pillars. These pillars got support through a latticed roof and a ticket office at the north end. White walls and arches, which used to decorate the extension, are similar to that of the Dayabumi complex than the original station. Dayabhumi got linked to the new extension by an elevated passageway.