Wuhan Station: The Sheer Wonder of It All

Ticket A22 | 08 July 2019

There’s a reason why I really am in love with China High Speed’s showcase station, Wuhan. It brings a rail museum to those travelling, not unlike BA’s claim that it places its headquarters just by Heathrow, so people get in the mood for their Next Ultimate Rail Adventure. It’s completely shielded from the elements, which is great news for those of coming in during a rainstorm (and this being Central China, it does happen quite a bit!). It also is a great place to start your journey as it has four gates per island platform (and two per side platform). I’d like to go into this in more detail today.

The Indoor Rail Museum

I hope Medium won’t take my post down due to gasp-inspired swearing, but honestly, this is just fucking amazing.

Nothing gets your journey off to a better start than actually seeing these trains, some on the move, and that’s right after you’ve cleared inspections at Departures Level. It is awesome and truly awe-inspiring. I’ve never seen anyone being stopped snapping a pic.

Even at platform level, it’s gorgeous.

And the best is when you travel on the escalator to the two side platforms, when you get to see the whole fucking wonderful monster in its absolute fullest glory.

(If you thought that was “intense language”, I invite you to stick a microphone to my lips next time I film at this station, as your tape is likely to be wiped clean due to the excessive gasping and swearing — in total amazement at this wonder.)

The Split Concourses

Each of them is a wonder in their own right. There’s even a mezzanine-ish semi-upper-level floor where you could supposedly get some good (!?) food.

Even from there, they’ve left the windows there and you can actually get some really exciting views of the platform.

Also, the windows give you an almost unimpeded look at the whole platforms and railway tracks. There are no nonstop tracks at Wuhan HSR, so all trains have to call and serve the station.

The Departure Gates

Usually it is a mad rush to the platform from stations which only have two gates per island platform, so at Wuhan, they’ve doubled the amount available. Each side hall gets two sets of gates, with four gates per island platform making access to trains much faster.

Unlike at other hubs, there’s direct access to Cars 2, 7, 10, and 15 (or just about). (Others have direct access to Cars 2 and 15 only.)

Occasionally, the extra gates by the “indoor rail museum” are opened as well. Finally, each side platform has two — not one — gate for direct access.

The Transfer Hub

Finally, to every great station must exist also direct connections to the city centre. Never mind here at Wuhan, the centre of town is a bit of a stretch on Line 4, but like all good stations, you can get straight to the metro without getting wet or risking icy conditions.

The only minor complaint I might find are that the exits are a little on the small side, plus they could probably make the ticket offices at Departures level a little bigger. Also, there’s no direct Express Entrance here, unlike at Beijing South…

Even so, it’s an awesome station. Everyone who comes to China should absolutely get off the train at Wuhan HSR, if only to stare (and swear) in amazement.