Dalat Railway Station

Construction of the Da Lat–Thap Cham Railway began in 1908, a decade after it had first been proposed by Paul Doumer, then Governor General of French Indochina, and proceeded in stages. Due to the difficulty of the mountainous terrain west of Song Pha—where the Ngoan Muc Pass rose into the Central Highlands—construction proceeded slowly, requiring several rack railway sections and tunnels to be built.

 

The railway was 84 km (52 mi) long, and rose almost 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) along a winding route with three rack rail sections and five tunnels.The railway tracks finally reached Da Lat in 1932, 24 years after construction had begun. Another railway station existed at the time, operated by the SGAI, a company that had managed the operation of the railway until that time. The job of designing and constructing a new railway station to replace the old one was given to French architects Moncet and Reveron, who submitted a proposal designed by Reveron in 1932. The new station would follow the Art Deco  style popular at the time, but would incorporate some characteristics of a Cao Nguyencommunal house of Vietnam"s Central Highlands specifically with its high, steep roofs.

 

 

 

Under each roof is a multicoloured glass window, and under the central roof is a large clock, which has recently been restored. Inside the station, the elevated roofs create a raised ceiling. At the front of the station is a Porte-cochère or coach gate, supported by two rows of twelve columns each.The station"s unique design earned it recognition as a national historical monument in 2001