{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}

Kamalapur Railway Station is the central railway station in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The station is the largest in the country and the most important terminal for transportation between Dhaka and the rest of Bangladesh. It is also one of the most modern and striking buildings in Dhaka designed by American architect Robert Boughey. The Kamalapur railway station is situated in the north-east side of Motijheel.

History[link]

There was only one railway station in Fulbaria. After the partition of Bengal, Dhaka became an important city and Kamalapur was selected for extension. Prior to the station being constructed, the land was a paddy field. At the beginning of the 1960s the station was built, and at that time it was one of the most important establishments in East Pakistan. It was mesmerizing to people at that time as there were not many beautiful structures in Dhaka. At that time consulting engineers, Pakistan LTD., established an architectural firm in Dhaka in 1960 named "Berger Engineers" in collaboration with the American firm Luis Berger Inc. The company had several architects working for them and teaching at East Pakistan University of Engineering and technology designed many institutional buildings up to 1967. An inconsistency can be traced in their work as of them had little knowledge and of them had little knowledge and experience of the local context, and often different architects were designing different architect building in the servre campus. Their works were comparatively national and neat.^[1]

Among the Berger architects, Robert Boughey maintained a consistency in architectural vocabulary, technical excellence and aesthetics in his creatives, concrete frame structures and its honest expression through ribbon window, non-load-bearing partition walls and cantilevered veranda as are some examples that characterized Boughey’s design. An inter-marriage of spatial and structural innovation culminated in his outstanding designs of the Kamalapur railway station, which is remarkable for the open petal shaped canopy unifying a number of otherwise disjointed buildings an innovative expression through architectural forms.^[1][2]

Architectural value[link]

Kamalapur Railway Station was built by Robert Boughey, and the station reflects his own way of style. The station is an architectural marvel, with a lotus-shaped shell structure covering functional buildings like an umbrella, thus unifying all various spaced beneath it. Boughey was one of the five American professors of architecture, who taught at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, when the university begun the program in 1962.

The station contains 21 ticket counters, and local tickers can be bought from 20 ticket counters. Tickets are available to go to India. There are two vudas, one for first class, and the other for second class passengers. The station has eight platforms and there are two restaurants in front of the ticket counters. There are also fast food shops near the ticket counters.

Present condition[link]

When the station was built, it was maintained very carefully. However, slowly, it lost its previous condition. There are 47 local trains, 28 express trains and 24 inter-city trains going through the station, and normally around 50 trains a day. The station has many security guards, station masters, along with one station manager. Every day, thousands of people come through the station. The trains go to any part of Bangladesh, except Borisal and Potuakhali. There is also a train going direct to India from the station. The platforms are always populated. There are lots of police and guards outside the station to control the area. The station is sometimes used as a sleeping place for homeless people. There is lots of prostitution going on in the station, with high risk of AIDS.^[3]

See also[link]

• Narayanganj-Bahadurabad Ghat Line

References[link]