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.
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
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]