Lanzhou West railway station

Lanzhou West

兰州西站
Lanzhou West; 兰州西站
	Lanzhou West railway station
General information
Other names	Lanzhou Xi
Location	Xizhan West Road (西站西路), Qilihe District, Lanzhou, Gansu; China
Coordinates	36°4′1″N 103°45′11″E / 36.06694°N 103.75306°E
Operated by	Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China
Line(s)	Longhai Railway,; Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway, ; Baoji–Lanzhou High-Speed Railway; Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Intercity Railway; Lanzhou–Ürümqi High-Speed Railway
Platforms	24 (2 side, 11 island); 4 (metro)
Connections	Bus terminal;
Other information
Station code	TMIS code: 41492; Telegraph code: LAJ; Pinyin code: LZX;
Classification	Top Class station
History
Opened	26 December 2014 (current); 1953 (former)
Closed	9 March 2012 (former)

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.
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

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]