Kunming North Railway Station

The new station/museum (yellow building) and the trainshed (green, behind it)

Kunming North Railway Station (昆明北站, Kunming Bei Zhan) is an old railway station in Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan Province. It was the terminal of the metre gauge Kunming–Hai Phong Railway, but now only sees very limited service.

French Construction

Built by the French in the early 20th century, the Kunming–Hai Phong Railway runs from Kunming to Hekou on Vietnamese border, and then continues to Vietnam. As late as the last years of the 20th century, every Friday and Sunday, a train would depart from Kunming North Railway Station to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It took about 16 hours to reach Hekou, and 32 hours to Hanoi.

Present State

Kunming North Railway Station and Yunnan Railway Museum in 2010. This building may not exist anymore, or has been remodeled out of recognition

Due to the deterioration of the railway line, the long distance narrow-gauge service has been cancelled; however, as of 2012, some local narrow gauge service still operates at Kunming North Railway Station, in particular two daily trains to Shizui (石咀) Station on the western outskirts of Kunming, and to Wangjiaying (王家营) east of the city.^[1]

Rolling stock on display in the museum's trainshed

The Yunnan Railway Museum (云南铁路博物馆, Yunnan Tielu Bowuguan) is adjacent to the station's tracks.^[2] As of 2012, most of the museum is closed, supposedly until 2015, due to the Kunming Metro construction, but its historical rail car exhibit is still open.^[3] Museum is completely open again in sept. 2014. Historic cars accessible by footbridge across the railway station.

See also

• Kunming Railway Station, the city's main train station

References

Coordinates: 25°3′36″N 102°43′10″E / 25.06000°N 102.71944°E / 25.06000; 102.71944