Howrah railway station

For the underground railway station, see Howrah metro station.

Howrah
Indian Railways and Kolkata Suburban Railway station
Howrah Station Eastern (top) and South Eastern (bottom) Railway Complex, West Bengal
General information
LocationLower Foreshore Rd, Howrah, West Bengal 711101
 India
Coordinates22°34′58″N 88°20′34″E / 22.5829°N 88.3428°E / 22.5829; 88.3428
Elevation12 metres (39 ft)
Owned byIndian Railways
Operated byEastern Railway
Line(s)
Platforms23
  • Old Complex (1-16)
  • New Complex (17-23)
[1]
Tracks25
ConnectionsGreen Line
Construction
Structure typeStandard (on-ground station)
ParkingAvailable Parking
Bicycle facilitiesAvailable Bicycle facilities
AccessibleYes Handicapped/disabled access
Other information
StatusActive
Station codeHWH[2]
Zone(s) Eastern Railway(ER) & South Eastern Railway (SER)
Division(s) Howrah (ER) & Kharagpur (SER)
History
Opened1854; 170 years ago (1854)
Electrified1954; 70 years ago (1954)[3]
Previous namesEast Indian Railway Company
Passengers
1 million+ daily (as of 2019)[4]
Services
Preceding station Kolkata Suburban Railway Following station
Terminus Eastern Line Liluah
towards Bandel Junction
Tikiapara
towards Midnapore
 South Eastern Line Terminus
Location
Map

Howrah railway station (also known as Howrah Junction) is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal at Kolkata metropolitan region,India.[9] It is the largest and busiest railway complex in India,[10][11][12][13] as well as one of the busiest and largest train stations in the world.[14][15] It is also the oldest surviving railway complex in India. Howrah is one of the five large intercity railway stations serving the Kolkata metropolitan area, the others being Sealdah, Santragachi, Shalimar and Kolkata railway station.

The first public train from the station was on 15 August 1854, on what is now the Howrah – Hooghly Main Line.[16] At present[when?], about 600 passenger trains pass through the station, serving more than 1 million passengers a day.[4][17][16] Utilising its 23 platforms, the station handles a total of 252 Mail/Express trains and 500 suburban EMU trains daily;[18] ten of the platforms are long enough to cater to trains with more than 24 coaches.[19] Goods and parcel trains also originate and terminate here.[19] The Howrah–Barddhaman main line is the busiest line that connects this station.[20]

  1. ^ "HOWRAH DIVISION : HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE - THE FIRST JOURNEY".
  2. ^ "LIST OF STATIONS OF SEALDAH DIVISION".
  3. ^ "[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Electric Traction – I". IRFCA. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Passengers run riot in Howrah". The Telegraph India. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. ^ Google Maps
  6. ^ Kharagpur-Howrah Local 38606 Indiarailinfo
  7. ^ Howrah-Haldia Local 68689 ⇒ 38089 Indiarailinfo
  8. ^ Santragachi-Digha EMU 78001 ⇒ 68687 Indiarailinfo
  9. ^ "Howrah JN (HWH) railway station". NDTV Rail Beeps. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  10. ^ অযান্ত্রিক (18 November 2015). "Howrah Railway Junction Station, Howrah, 1854 –". puronokolkata. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  11. ^ Karthikeyan, K. (24 June 2012). "Third oldest railway station in country set to turn 156". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Ten busiest railway stations of India". EducationWorld. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Most Busiest Railway Stations of India". erail.in. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  14. ^ "7 of the Busiest Train Stations in the World". WorldAtlas. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  15. ^ Pritchard, Tim (4 April 2019). "Imagine sharing a commute through one station with half a million people". mirror. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Howrah Division. Historical Perspective - The First Journey. Brief Details". Indian Railways Portal. Indian Railways. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  17. ^ Thakur, Joydeep (12 May 2020). "Buzz back at India's busiest station after nearly 2 months". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Indian Railways Portal". er.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  19. ^ a b Report of the Comptroller and Auditor Generalof India on Augmentation of Station Line Capacity on selected stations in Indian Railways for the year ended March 2017 (PDF), Union Government (Railways), 2018, pp. 50–52
  20. ^ Mondal, Bhaswati; Samanta, Gopa (2021). Mobilities in India: The Experience of Suburban Rail Commuting. Springer Nature. p. 22. ISBN 978-3-030-78350-1.