The construction of Nanjing Railway Station was begun in September, 1968. Located in the northern part of Nanjing city, it is situated along theYangzi River and at the foot of Zijin Mountain, with Xuanwu Lake in front and Hongshan to the rear.

It has an excellent geographical location and is surrounded by beautiful scenery. In 2002, with the financial support of the Ministry of Railways, Jiangsu Government and Nanjing Government, Nanjing Railway Station was reconstructed in its original location. After 3 years, with a total investment of 350 million yuan, it was brought into use as a major project of the Tenth China National Games on September 1, 2005.

The appearance of the new station building was designed by AREP, a French company, and its internal functions were designed by the China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group. It perfectly presents a mixture of symbolism, functionality, system, technology and culture. The station building has adopted a cable-stayed mast structure, with 18 masts supporting the steel girder. It looks like a huge boat spreading its sails in Xuanwu Lake, featured both Jiangnan and modern culture.

 

The new station building is 270 meters in length from east to west, and 53.3 meters in width from south to north. It has one floor underground, and three floors above, with a total construction floor area of 41,000 square meters, six times as large as the original one. During the peak times of transport, it has the capacity to contain 10,000 passengers, which is four times larger than that of the old station.

The booking office has 32 ticket counters and eight counters for emergencies, covering an area of 1,155 square meters. On the first floor, the west end has a section for left luggage, the middle part is the booking office, and the east end is the VIP waiting section.

On the second floor lies the entrance hall, a normal waiting room, and a special waiting room for mothers with infants, soldiers, and people in need of help.

On the third floor there is another waiting room. To make it convenient for passengers to go upstairs and downstairs, the station has installed 18 escalators, four escalators and 10 lifts(Seven for the handicapped, and three for cargo).