Yangon Central Railway Station, located in downtown Yangon, is the largest railway station in Myanmar. It is the gateway to Myanmar Railways' 3,126-mile (5,031 km) rail network whose reach covers Upper Myanmar, upcountry, Shan hills and the Taninthayi coast. The station was first built in 1877 by the British but destroyed by the retreating British in 1943 from advancing Japanese forces.