FIRST CLASS STATIONS
Hop aboard for a trip to some of the world’s most amazing train stations.
1 The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, India, handles more than three million people each day, making it one of the busiest train stations in the world. Passengers who are in not too much of a hurry should take the time to marvel at the building’s eclectic mix of Victorian architecture sprinkled with numerous Indian details.
2 More than 20,000 hand-painted ceramic tiles or azulejos decorate the entrance hall of the São Bento station in Porto, Portugal. The renowned painter Jorge Colaço needed no less than 11 years to transform the Portuguese terminal into this blue and white work of art. The scenes on the 550 square metres of painted tiles depict important events in Portuguese history.
3 Roughly 22 million tourists visit Grand Central Station in New York every year – more people than the Louvre attracts. Probably more so than any of its other features, the magnificent Grand Hall is known around the world through its appearance in innumerable films and TV shows. But even the often overlooked facade of the world’s largest train station has a lot to offer, including the world’s largest Tiffany clock.
4 A steel and glass roof suspended delicately over the platforms is the centerpiece of Liège-Guillemins in Liège, Belgium. This futuristic train station is open on all sides, and is an example of environmentally sustainable architecture, needing no artificial lighting during the day.