Lanzhou West railway station (Chinese: 兰州西站; pinyin: Lánzhōu Xīzhàn) is located in Qilihe District, Lanzhou, Gansu Province. It is served by the Longhai Railway, Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway, Lanzhou–Ürümqi High-Speed Railway, Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Intercity Railway and Baoji–Lanzhou High-Speed Railway. It is one of the city's principal railway stations.

Former Lanzhou West railway station

The original station was built in 1953 and was classed as a secondary station within Lanzhou, with most rail traffic stopping at nearby Lanzhou railway station, 8 km to the east. There were just 11 services daily stopping at this station, all for local and regional destinations within Gansu and Qinghai.

The former Lanzhou West railway station officially closed on 9 March 2012 for renovation and construction of the current station complex.[1]

  • View of the exterior of the old Lanzhou West railway station.
    View of the exterior of the old Lanzhou West railway station.
  • View of the exterior of the old Lanzhou West railway station.
    View of the exterior of the old Lanzhou West railway station.
  • Ticket Hall of the old Lanzhou West railway station. No train service here since March 2013 but ticketing service is still available.
    Ticket Hall of the old Lanzhou West railway station. No train service here since March 2013 but ticketing service is still available.
  • View of the closed platforms of the old Lanzhou West railway station
    View of the closed platforms of the old Lanzhou West railway station

Current Lanzhou West railway station

Situated a kilometre to the west of the old station, a new high speed railway station was constructed. This station has become the centre for most high speed services in Lanzhou, equalling Lanzhou railway station in importance for long distance and regional rail services. It will also serve as a major transportation interchange with a major long distance and local bus terminal plus connections to Lanzhou Metro's Lines 1 and 2 (U/C). Built on the site of a former rail freight yard at a cost of 3.188 billion Yuan,[2] it dwarfs the former Lanzhou West railway station in almost every respect in terms of size and services. The entire station site encompasses over 680,000m2 of space. The station hall is built over 5 main levels, 2 above ground and 3 below, with an area of 220,000m2, making it the largest transportation building in Lanzhou. It features 13 platforms, 2 side platforms and 11 island platforms, servicing 26 tracks. It opened on December 26, 2014.[3] This was in line with the opening of the Lanzhou-Ürümqi High Speed Railway.[4]

Connections

Bus lines

The adjacent bus station (兰州西客站) offers connections to destinations in all directions, including the city centre and Lanzhou railway station.[5][6]

Metro

References

  1. ^ "Lanzhou West Railway Station Closes".
  2. ^ "走进兰州西站施工现场：新丝路迎来"高铁时代"【3】--财经--人民网".
  3. ^ "China extends high-speed rail network". Sky News Australia. Sky News. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. ^ "鸟巢建设者参建兰州西客站 2014年年底建成通车_央广网".
  5. ^ http://www.lu35.com/bus/149_20483.html
  6. ^ "兰州公交集团". www.lzbus.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008.