The station opened in 1911.[1] Shenyang North railway station was formerly the "Liaoning main station" (遼寧總站) before 1946 and colloquially known as the "Old North Station" (老北站). The original building was built in 1927. The current Main Station Building (主站房) began construction in 1986, was commissioned for operation in December 1990,[2] and became one of the five most important railway hubs in China, earning itself the nickname "Northeast's No. 1 Station" (东北第一站).
In 2011, a huge expansion project known as the "North Station Transport Hub Reconstruction Project" (北站交通枢纽改造工程) was initiated in response to the growing demand for floor area posed by the increasing passenger traffic after introduction of the high-speed rail service. The station now has an additional 3-storey "Sub-Station Building" (子站房) and a "Northern Square" (北广场) on the north (Huanggu District) side of the railways, while the old waiting lounge in the original 16-storey Main Station Building is now relocated to a large elevated concourse that bridges over the rail tracks, with a pillar-less roof (the largest in mainland China) doming the platforms. The South Square (南广场) outside the Main Station Building was rebuilt into a multi-levelled complex, with two above ground forming an elevated airport-style drop-off zone and a large ground-level area for bus stops, as well as a three-level underground city providing shopping malls, car parks, taxi pick-up and interchange with Subway Line 2, while also capable of rapid conversion into an air raid shelter if needed.
