Ipoh Railway Station

Ipoh station was completed in 1917 to a design by Arthur Benison Hubback, the same architect as the old Kuala Lumpur station, and it is worked in the same Indo-Saracenic manner - a long white front with a colonnade, domes and arches, facing a green square across the road from the town hall. The upper floors were built as the Majestic Hotel, with a wide covered verandah running the length of the building, and that combination of railway station and colonial hotel is where the local nickname comes from. Trains still run: the electrified line from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar stops here, so it is a working station rather than a preserved one. The hotel has been closed and reopened over the years and the verandah is the best place to look at the square.

What you actually see

• A long white colonnaded front - domes and arches by the KL station architect.
• The Majestic Hotel above - built into the upper floors with a long verandah.
• A working platform - the electrified line north from Kuala Lumpur still stops here.
• The civic square opposite - the town hall and green facing the station.

When to go

All year; early morning or evening for the light on the white front. An hour.

Honest expectations

There is no museum and little to do beyond looking. The hotel's operation has been intermittent. The road in front is busy and the square gets very hot at midday.

Nearby

Ipoh old town, Concubine Lane and the town hall are within a short walk.