[2] Since 1 August 2008, it serves as the terminus for high-speed trains to the city, including the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway, which can reach speeds above 350 km/h.

[3] In May 1891, a larger station was built 500 metres (1,640 ft 5 in) to the west and a civil structure contained a three-storey building.

In 1950, the Tianjin Station waiting rooms were expanded by more than 1,000 square meters (10,764 sq ft), and for thirty years there were no further large-scale expansion works undertaken.

New roofing was constructed on the original site of the old station house and also on the 66-metre-high (216 ft 6 in) cylindrical clock tower, face Hai River.

In the spring of 1988, Li Ruihuan, then the Tianjin mayor, inspired by the Sistine Chapel ceiling during his visit to Italy, ordered to paint a similar dome mural for the entrance hall of the station.

It took four months to complete the mural before 1 October, the National Day of 1988, by old painter Qin Zheng (秦征) and his students.

Jingwei was depicted as a naked woman with two wings and long hair, which broke the taboo concerning nudity for the first time after the Cultural Revolution.

In order to protect the oil painting, Tianjin Railway station became the China's first public place to forbid smoking.