Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
9 OF THE BEST great train stations
Some of the world’s great railway stations are tourist attractions in their own right – here are our faves
1 NEW YORK GRAND CENTRAL, USA
No railway station has appeared in more movies than Grand Central. We’ve seen it in Superman, the Fisher King, and the Taking of Pelham 123. A massive Art Nouveau construction built in 1913 by 10,000 workers, its glory is not the train shed part, but the entrance concourse, with marble floor, fourfaced brass clock and ceiling frescoed with stars. These days it is a place for scurrying commuters rather than long-distance travellers, and some 10,000 people come here just for lunch in places like the original oyster bar downstairs, under vaulted ceilings. FINAL DESTINATION? Amtrak longdistance trains now all leave from less beautiful Penn station, but there are compelling commuter journeys to be made out of Grand Central, particularly out along the Hudson River all the way to Poughkeepsie, with its genteel 18th century mansions.
2 LONDON ST PANCRAS, UK
The UK’s finest station is rightly a source of pride. Its train shed (technical term for the huge curved roof) was the largest in the world when it was built in 1868, and its resurgence partly thanks to poet John Betjeman and Eurostar (along with a cool £800million) is spectacular. Tragically, passengers are herded into the crypt downstairs and when time comes to board they barely notice the station’s glorious cantilevered roof and Byzantine brickwork arches. So arrive early and check out the Champagne bar, the traditional railway cafécum-cocktail brasserie the Booking Office, and sculptor Paul Day’s bronze couple, canoodling under the station clock. FINAL DESTINATION? It has to be Paris, although Eurostar’s arrival station, gritty Gare du Nord, has a fraction of the romance of St Pancras.
3 MUMBAI CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ TERMINAL, INDIA
Once known simply as the Victoria Terminus, Mumbai’s Unesco-registered Gothic revival looks like some kind of imperial governmental headquarters from the outside, although its grandeur is completely external: inside it’s a blizzard of humanity, some of it on wheels. There’s a whole eco-system
in a multi-layered subculture existing here, and systems of operation – “up” trains and “down” trains – that take some time to comprehend. FINAL DESTINATION? Take the Konkan Railway south to the beach resorts of Goa. The route runs through massive mountain ranges, and 76 workers were killed while making the tunnels and laying track.
4 BERLIN HAUPTBAHNHOF, GERMANY
A gleaming confection of girder and glass that is barely a decade old, Berlin’s main station is a symbol of the city’s reunification. It’s a mix of atrium, escalators and shopping centre, part above and part below ground, with a cross-hatching of tracks on different levels going in different directions. A selection of vantage points allow you to peer right down through to the bottom layer, marvelling at the audacity of the design and the intricacy of the track-tangle. FINAL DESTINATION? Both high-speed ICEs and suburban trains rumble through Hauptbahnhof on the same elevated section of track, so ignore the posh trains and meander across the city at rooftop level in one of the retro U-bahns.
5 MILAN CENTRAL, ITALY
This vast, monumental station was built by Benito Mussolini and its heavy stonework was intended to convey the power and the flair of the fascist regime. Its façade looks like a palace, and its entrance hallways are giant spaces showcasing the Art Deco detailing. It opened in 1931, a particular show of magnificence at a time when Italy was emerging from a prolonged economic crisis. FINAL DESTINATION? From here trains head west into France and south to Rome, but the most eye-catching route is east to Venice, galloping across the fruitful plains of the Veneto, through Shakespearean cities such as Verona and Padua, and finally crossing the lagoon on a causeway into Venice itself.
6 LIÈGE-GUILLEMINS, BELGIUM
This preying mantis of a station perches on the rim of the town’s ancient centre, and is a particularly audacious bit of town planning. Cool, light and airy and designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, its giant wings are carved out of glass, ready to go airborne any minute. On chilly days it is a bit too airy, and passengers would rather wait in one of the bars in the pedestrianised heart of Liège nearby. FINAL DESTINATION? Liège is on the Thalys high-speed route from Brussels to Cologne. The latter station sits right under the blackened spires of Cologne’s famous cathedral.
7 SHINJUKU STATION, TOKYO, JAPAN
It’s not beautiful, but you can’t fail to be impressed by the world’s busiest transport hub, used by a staggering 3.5million people every day. Don’t come during rush hour. Out on the platforms, it’s all calm and orderly, queuing in lines for trains that leave bang on time. Outside, you’ll get swept along by the crowds. Japanese railway stations are malls, and this one has tentacles in all directions, so you need to research exactly which exit (of the 200) you need. The Shinjuku neighbourhood is an extravaganza of neon, particularly after dark. FINAL DESTINATION? Bullet trains tend to be a bit sterile, so for a better, up close and personal cross-section of Japanese society, take the Yamanote loop line which runs around Tokyo.
8 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Malaysia is not a nation that prioritises train travel, so its station in KL, built by the railway-loving British back in 1910, is a shadow of its former self. Its roofline is dotted
with elevated pavilions that echo palace architecture in India. These days, it’s mainly
used by commuters. FINAL DESTINATION? The international express that links Singapore with Bangkok passes through every evening, but for an adventure set off for the Thai border via the east coast line, aka the jungle railway.
9 ISTANBUL HAYDARPASA, TURKEY
Standing proud on the banks of the Bosphorus, the strait that separates Europe from Asia, Haydarpasa’s magic is partly to do to its location, as there can be few major terminals which are best approached by sea. The station has extra charisma for all the destinations it once offered, for example Baghdad and Damascus. Its galleried entrance halls have frescos and stained glass, but the platforms themselves are a bit of an anti-climax – regular services are currently suspended pending track works.
FINAL DESTINATION? A high-speed service to Ankara is pencilled in; meanwhile it is still worth decamping off a Bosphorus ferry into its hallowed hallways.