It is located within downtown Yangon, and serves as the gateway to Myanmar Railways' 3,126 mi (5,031 km) rail network[2] whose reach covers Upper Myanmar (Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Kalaw), and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyine, Ye).

The current station building was designed by U Tin in traditional Burmese architectural style, making prominent use of indigenous tiered roofs called pyatthat, and was completed on 5 June 1954.

The building was designed in the British Victorian style and the access roads were bordered by grassy lawns.

[3] The station was rebuilt following the war according to a design based on Burmese traditional architectural styles, drawn by engineer Hla Thwin.

Construction was started in January 1947 by engineer Sithu U Tin and completed in May 1954 at a total cost of K4.75 million.