YANGON—On this day in 1954, then-Prime Minister U Nu officially opened the still-standing Yangon Central Railway Station.
The central railway station was first built in 1877 by the British to support Myanmar’s first railway line from Yangon to Pyay. It was demolished and a new railway station was built in 1911. The second station was then destroyed by bombing during World War II.
After the war, the station was rebuilt based on the design drawn by engineer U Hla Thwin with the support of architect U Tin, who also designed Yangon City Hall.
It took around eight years, from 1947 to 1954, to build the new railway station, the first station built in independent Myanmar. The new station is bigger than its predecessor from the colonial period and cost 4.75 million kyats at the time.
The new structure is based on Burmese traditional architectural styles—a significant departure from its previous version, which was in the British Victorian style. On opening day in 1954, free trains operated from the central station to Thingangyun Station.
Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
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