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Right across the road from Masjid Negara is the KTM Station and Head Office. The station was the KL terminal for all KTM or Malayan Railways inter-city trains before it (the terminal) was moved to Kuala Lumpur Sentral.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia.
Formerly known as the Malayan Railway Administration (a corporate sole established under Section 4 of the repealed Railway Ordinance 1948), it came to be known as KTMB after the government-led corporatisation in 1992. However, it remained wholly owned by the federal government. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin. Fares are generally reasonable, but the low speed of the intercity trains does not usually make them competitive with other modes of transportation.
Source: Wikipedia
Across from the KTMB office building is the old station.
One of the old spiral stairways at the station.
A refurbished spiral stairway, also at the station.
Where once the trains took you north or south, the buses do.
The Station Hotel is still there, I think, based on the sign.
The food at the station appears to be the 'Mamak' variety, not the western menu that I remember.
I just loved the root formation.
There is an underground pedestrian crossing linking the station to the KTMB office building.
There were a number of groups of photographers practicing their craft here, just like this group below.
Next to the KTMB is the former Majestic Hotel which has been boarded up.
From the signs on the boards, it is the property of the YTL group.
I took this shot from a gap in the wall...
... that is until I discovered that the gate was wide open.
When I went in, I was politely asked to leave as it was private property.
When the hotel closed for business, the building was to be torn down and the area re-developed. Due to the strong protests, it was used as the National Art Gallery until the gallery moved into its new premises in Jalan Tun Razak. The run down appearance of the building gives the impression that this will suffer the same fate as the Eastern Hotel at what is now the Capitol Square.
"I stayed in the Majestic Hotel in the early 1970s when it was an old, interesting and colorful colonial hotel. The public rooms were grand and the lounge chairs were comfortable. I don't remember the food or the service but they must have been equally good. The most interesting feature of the hotel to me was the troop of monkeys roaming free on the verdant hillside and visible through the windows at the back of the hotel. An old, retired colonial gentleman lived on the top floor in a suite; this was his home as he did not return to England following Independence. I remember him slowly climbing the stairs following his meals..."
Part of comment left by one Jery Kilker at wikimapia.org (Former Majestic Hotel)
Another building that will share the same fate as the former Majestic Hotel.
Nearby is the Sultan Sulaiman building.
The building now houses the KL Syariah (Islamic) Court.
One of the old cast iron bridges still in use in KL.
A view of the station seen from the bridge.
1 comment:
Great shots! It has been said that W. Somerset Maugham had resided in the Heritage Station Hotel before. Across the road from the station is a roundabout where there used to be monoliths. They have since relocated the monoliths/standing stones to Muzium Negara, so it's just a patch of grass now, more's the pity. And the Majestic Hotel -- I used to love visiting it when it was the National Art Gallery. It was so accessible to public transport takers then, and the building has so much charm.
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