Tianjin Railway Station and original Tianjin West Station opened1910. 2019.[Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Recently I was relaxing in air-conditioned comfort and having a coffee at Tianjin’s vast, modern West Railway Station. From the mezzanine level I could look across an extensive, well laid out departure hall and think. There I reflected on the changes I have seen and personally experienced in railway station architecture. Layouts that now bear little or no resemblance to what was often the norm up to around 2008. That year was significant for it marked the introduction of high-speed 350kph train, starting with the inaugural Beijing-Tianjin line on Aug 1. Today the network has extended nationwide, bringing with it a completely different approach to railway station design, even for smaller intermediate towns and cities.