Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Siliguri

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Indian Railways is one of the most important assets of the nation as it plays a vital role in transportation of millions of people and freight to remote destinations all across the country. The origin of railways in India dates back in 1853 when first railway line was established between Bombay and Thane. Since then, Indian Railways has seen rapid and continuous developments which have resulted in such a vast network of railway lines that it is ranked among the largest rail networks of the world.

Siliguri is a small town in the district of Darjeeling in the state of Assam of North East India. Located between the foothills of Himalayas and the Mahananda River Banks, it is a premier tourist spot, commercial and education centre of North Bengal. The city of Siliguri has seen a significant economic boom in the past few years in various sectors like retail, real estate and hospitality sector. Due to its rapid development, railways have become a very important aspect for the city.

The city of Siliguri has five major railway stations named Siliguri Town Railway Station, Siliguri Junction, New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, Bagdora Railway Station and Naxalbari Railway station.

  • Siliguri Town Railway Station:

Siliguri Town Railway Station or SGUT is the oldest railway station of the city and was built and opened in the year 1880. At first, the Siliguri town station was connected to Calcutta through a narrow gauge line, but in 1926, it was converted into broad gauge line. This station served the most part of eastern Bengal (Now Bangladesh) before 1947.

  • Siliguri Junction Railway Station:

After partition in 1947, the Railways in Bengal were greatly disturbed due to loss of East Bengal to Pakistan. Due to this, the Siliguri Town Railway Station lost its significance, and there was a need for a new railway station with a newly developed railway route for this area. The Siliguri Junction Railway Station became the main station of this area with all three gauge used in railways. Siliguri junction is special because it is only station of Indian Railways, which has all three gauges of railway used in India.

The narrow gauge connected Siliguri junction to Assam, Kishanganj, Haldibari and Barsoi till 1960, but after that this station was connected to Calcutta in 1960 with broad gauge. And, gradually, all other lines were also converted into broad gauge in following years.

The facilities and amenities that are provided to the visitors and passengers at Siliguri junction are a large waiting room, retiring room, and book stalls. The Siliguri Railway Station also has four-bedded dormitory and three double-bedded retiring rooms. It also has a tourist information centre in the station premises, which is helpful for tourists for any information about the city.

In 1961, a meter gauge Diesel Loco shed was found here at the Siliguri Junction, and in the year 2007, a new broad gauge loco shed was established here.

Major Trains at Siliguri Junction are;

  • Mahananda Express
  • Karmabhumi Express
  • Capital Express
  • Kanchan Kanya Express
  • New Jalpaiguri Railway Station:

The New Jalpaiguri Railway Station or NJP was found in the year 1961 and lies on the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway line. The other lines passing through New Jalpaiguri station are Howrah New Jalpaiguri Line, New Jalpaiguri Haldibari line and New Jalpaiguri Alipurdar Samkutala Road line. It comes under the control of Katihar division of Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways.

The station has eight platforms out of which 2 are narrow gauge and 6 are broad gauge lines. The basic amenities at New Jalpaiguri station are non-vegetarian and vegetarian refreshment stalls, books stall, computerised reservation and ticket booking centre. The station also has two AC retiring rooms with double beds, six Non-AC retiring rooms with double beds, one dormitory with three beds and one dormitory with twelve beds.

The New Jalpaiguri is included in the list of top hundred booking stations of Indian Railways. There are more than one hundred trains, which have a halt at New Jalpaiguri station. The station handles the train with a longest train route in India, which is Vivek Express from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari. It travels a distance of 4286 KM in 82.30 hours.

These are the major three stations in Siliguri city, which are serving a large number of passengers and tourists on a daily basis.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Kolhapur

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The Chattrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus (codenamed CSMT) is the central railway station in Kolhapur. The station is located on the Miraj- Kolhapur railway line and the terminus is connected with all the major stations in the country. There are express and super-fast trains that cross Kolhapur daily from cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Tirupathi, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Dhanbad, and others. CSMT falls under the administrative control of Pune division under Central Railways Zone of Indian Railways. The terminus opened only in 2007, and since then, the strategic location of Kolhapur provides a good connectivity for nearby towns to commute to other parts of Maharashtra.

The terminus is provided with only two platforms as of today, and construction work is in progress to have another two additional platforms by late 2015. There is a daily commute service between Kolhapur station and Miraj Station. The station is named after Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. The station is equipped with basic passenger amenities to help passengers have a comfortable stay during their visit. CSMT is located at 563 metres above sea level and serves as a hub for goods carrier in the central region.

CSMT is located at 10 Kilometres from the Kolhapur domestic airport and is also close to the three inter-city bus terminals. The station is near landmarks such as Vishalgad (76 KM), Bhudargad (50 KM), Paargad (28 KM), Narasimha Wadi (45 KM), Jyotibha (17 KM), Bahubali of Kumbhojgiri (27 KM), Dajipur Bison Sanctuary (80 KM), and Amba (65 KM). All these locations are pride for Maharashtra, and the Kolhapur city is located in good proximity to have a trip for passengers visiting CSMT.

  • Facilities Available at Chattrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus:

Over the years since its inception in 2007, the Central Railways has upgraded the facilities at the station to include computerized reservation system, enquiry service, cafeteria, integrated voice response system, book stalls, refreshment stores, foot over bridges between platforms and provision for prepaid parking services. Kolhapur grew in size with rise in the economy and coupled with growth in the tourism industry led to position CSMT to be the next major hub in the region. The station is also equipped with general waiting room, supply of drinking water, well-maintained restrooms and emergency medical care services. The bus terminal is located near the CSMT and provides easy transport to other parts of the district.

  • Restaurants Near Chattrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus:

The passengers have multiple avenues with restaurants located near the CSMT.

Some of The Popular Places are Listed Below:

  • Tandoor Restaurant – Contact # 0231 252 4007
  • Mr. Idli- South Indian Restaurant – Contact # 0 954 545 1811
  • Hotel Maratha Regency – Contact # 0231 265 2666
  • Hotel Karnival –Contact # 0231 266 4988
  • Hotel Ayodhya – Contact # 0231 265 1781

The restaurants located near the railway station offer variety of north Indian, South Indian and Chinese dishes at reasonable prices. The culture of Kolhapur promotes non-vegetarian food and is widely available across the city. There are few hotels with customized restaurants to serve the passengers delicacies of Kolhapur.

  • Famous Food of Kolhapur:

The cuisines of Kolhapur resonate all over Maharashtra state. The Maratha recipes were designed during the olden times, and since then, the region has developed unique dishes here. The city is famous for the three dishes- Kolhapuri Lavangi (chilli peppers), Kolhapuri Jaggery and Kolhapuri masala (mix of spices). These dishes are prepared here in Kolhapur and are very popular in other parts of the country also. Kolhapuri Misal is a good healthy snack hot and spicy. Ginger, garlic and mint are common ingredients in the Kolhapur cuisines. This misal product is served with roasted bread and often served in all restaurants in Kolhapur.

Other significant dishes worth mentioning are Tambra/Pandra Rassa. These are specially prepared mutton cuisines of Kolhapur. Pandra Rassa is a mutton soup prepared by boiling meat with garlic and other spices. Studies have shown tremendous medicinal values in this starter or pre-food item. Tambra Rassa is also prepared in a similar fashion with a mix of red pepper chilli, and very popular among the rural communities of Kolhapur. After these special starters, roasted mutton satiates the appetite. The city is famous for a variety of mutton related dishes with separate recipes for perusal.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Hyderabad

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Secunderabad Junction (codenamed SC) is a major railway junction in Hyderabad city. The junction falls under the purview of South Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This station was built during the British era in 1874 during the reign of the Nizam of Hyderabad and has a long 140-year history. Secunderabad Junction is under the control of Indian Railways from 1951. The station building is a true marksmanship of the Asaf Jahi Style of architecture with twin forts, and also, a popular attraction in Hyderabad. This junction is one of the busiest in Telangana district, handling more than 190 trains daily.

Secunderabad Junction is the zonal headquarters of the South Central Railway, and also, the divisional headquarters of the Secunderabad Division. Another landmark of this station is the ISO 9001 certification for high quality in ticket booking process, parcel and luggage booking & train management facilities. This coveted certificate is awarded to very few stations in the country and the Southern Central Railways have further plans to upgrade the infrastructure and do vertical expansion within the station. Secunderabad Junction is well-connected to all parts of the country and considered as major railway hub in South India. The junction is a host to ten platforms and electrification of the railway lines from Secunderabad was completed in 1993. This station is also interlinked with the local train network within the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Secunderabad Railway station is one of the biggest and busiest stations in the Indian Railways. In order to handle the increased passenger traffic over the years, the Southern Central Railway Zone has developed two satellite stations. One is Hyderabad Deccan Station (9 KM), and other is Kacheguda Railway station (3 KM). There is also another proposal to build another world class railway station at Malkajgiri location to further support Secunderabad railway station. There are a host of facilities within the station like the escalators, information kiosks, elevators, variety of restaurants, prepaid parking, prepaid taxi services, and inter-city bus services from the station.

Secunderabad railway station is one of the modernized railway lines and handles close to 100,000 passengers on a daily basis. The large influx of passengers to the city also challenges the railway management to maintain the quality of services offered. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) guards the station with armed weapons and is also supported by Army soldiers to ensure the safety of the passengers. The security equipment includes CCTV surveillance, metal doors, hand held sensors, bomb detection squad, and other tools to monitor the railway station for any abnormal conditions.

The station is located at 36 Kilometres from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Secunderabad Railway station also is part of the local train network (Hyderabad Metro Rail Transport System) and provides an alternative to commute within Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The nearest railway stations to Secunderabad Junction are Kacheguda (3 KM), Begumpet Railway Station (6 KM), Hyderabad Deccan Railway Station (9 KM), and Falaknama Railway Station (10 KM).

  • Kacheguda Railway Station:

The nearest satellite station to Secunderabad junction is the Kacheguda Railway station (codenamed KCG) and is located less than 3 Kilometres. Built in 1916, the station is an architectural marvel, and also, has many express trains originating from there to Chennai, Bangalore, Indore, and other major stations. The station is the headquarters of Hyderabad division of Southern Central Railway.

Begumpet Railway Station:

Begumpet is located in the central region of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Codenamed BMT, this station provides an avenue for easy commutation to local passengers. Many express, super-fast trains stop at Begumpet railway station, and it is busiest local train station in Multi Modal Transit System of Hyderabad.

  • Hyderabad Deccan Railway Station:

The central satellite station of Secunderabad is the Hyderabad Deccan railway station (codenamed HYB). This station is also called as Nampally Railway station and falls under the administrative control of the Secunderabad Division of the Southern Central Railway. The station hosts slew of super-fast and express trains connecting major cities in the country. Nampally station is equipped with best-in-class infrastructure on the lines of Secunderabad station and started its operations in 1874. The electrification of the railway line was completed in 2003.

  • Falaknuma Railway Station:

This is one of the oldest railway stations built during the days of Nizam of Hyderabad. Falaknuma Railway station (codenamed FM) is a key station in the local train network, and the popular Falaknuma-Secunderabad (FS Line) originates from here.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Haridwar

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Haridwar Junction (codenamed HW) is located on the south side of the town of Haridwar. The station falls under the administrative control of Moradabad division of the Northern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This junction is one of the largest within Uttarakhand state with a high influx of tourists from all parts of the country. Haridwar Junction is on the Howrah-Dehradun and Delhi-Dehradun railway lines. After Dehradun station, this junction is the busiest handling close to fifty thousand passengers daily. Haridwar Junction is the oldest in the region and started its operations in early 1886 and has a history of 128 years. This is also one of the few landmarks in the Indian Railways history and is connected by broad gauge lines. The station is also located on the National Highway Number 58 in the Devpura locality of Haridwar.

Haridwar Junction is well-connected with major cities in the Northern and Western Railway Zone. Some of the major cities are Delhi, Howrah, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Amritsar, Puri, Allahabad, and others. In the north, the major railhead is at Dehradun (52 KM), to its west, the major railway stations is at Saharanpur (76 KM), and down south, the junction is connected to Rishikesh (22 KM). The proximity of the Haridwar city to all the pilgrimages in North India brings a lot of tourists to this station. The Junction is situated close to many restaurants and boarding places to benefit the passengers visiting the city. The nearest airport from the Haridwar Junction is Jolly Grant Airport, located about 42 Kilometres in Dehradun.

Haridwar Junction is equipped with good facilities from general waiting rooms, cafeteria services, book stalls, air-conditioned lounges, and tourist information centres. The junction has nine platforms, with five broad gauge and four metre gauge. All these platforms are provided with the supply of drinking water and resting rooms respectively. The station also has computerized ticket booking counters, automatic ticket vending machines, baggage checking by security personnel, CCTV surveillance, and large parking facility. The station is equipped with advance ticket counter, 24×7 enquiry services, slew of restaurants, and prepaid bus booking services. The Northern Railways has plans to upgrade the station to improve the facilities to turn it into a major tourist hub with slew of trains from southern parts of India. Haridwar Junction is opposite to the city bus stand, which runs high frequency of buses to all destinations in North India. Such services turn Haridwar Junction into a major hub for commuting within the region. The station and the railway line are currently under the electrification process and will be ready by early 2015.

The nearest stations to the Haridwar Junction are Jwalapur Railway Station (4 KM), Motichur Railway Station (5 KM), Ikkar Railway Station (9 KM), and Raiwala Railway Station (11 KM).

  • Jwalapur Railway Station:

This station codenamed JWP is located four kilometres from the Haridwar Junction. This satellite station is in the Bahadrabad taluk region and thirteen express trains stop here. Jwalapur railway station is provided with three platforms, and all the passenger trains between Delhi and Rishikesh stop here instead of the Haridwar junction to reduce the passenger traffic. Jwalapur station is sometimes used as a helipad terminal in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand.

  • Motichur Railway Station:

This station is located at 312 metres above sea level. Motichur station codenamed as MOTC lies on the Delhi- Rishikesh metre gauge railway network. The station has three express trains’ stops. There is a reservation counter and the station is equipped with basic amenities. Motichur railway station is part of the local train network and commutes passengers within the Haridwar district.

  • Ikkar Railway Station:

Ikkar (codenamed IKK) is also on the Delhi- Rishikesh metre gauge network. Located at 271 metres above sea level, the station has low passenger density. Ikkar is situated close to nine kilometres from Haridwar Junction. The nearest town is Bahadrabad, which is located at 6 Kilometres from this station. Ikkar railway station functions to connect this town to rest of the Uttarakhand.

  • Raiwala Railway Station:

Raiwala station codenamed as RWL is one of the local train stations within Haridwar. The station is located at an elevation of 361 metres above sea level and about 11 Kilometres from the Haridwar Junction.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Guwahati

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India is a vibrant country with a large population. To provide transportation for such a large population, Indian Railways is the best option. Indian Railways is one of the largest and oldest railway networks in the world. It is the responsibility of Indian Railways to transport millions of people and thousands of tonnes of goods to different parts of the country, to keep the lives of people of the country moving smoothly. Indian Railways is divided into seventeen zones, which are further divided into sixty-eight divisions.

Guwahati is the largest city of Assam and is one of the major metropolises of eastern India. The city is situated between the banks of Brahmaputra River and Shillong plateau. Guwahati is a major centre for education and economy in the state of Assam along with many political and cultural activities. It is also a home for beautiful natural sceneries and some of the rarest animal species like rhinoceros, pythons, Asian elephants, Tigers, etc.

Two major railway stations in Guwahati are Guwahati junction (GHY) and Kamakhya station (KYQ).

Guwahati Junction:

Guwahati Junction or GHY is situated in the centre of the state of Assam just behind the Bus stand of Assam State Transport Corporation and has an elevation of 56.22 metres above the sea level. The Guwahati station was built in 1900 and lies on the Barauni-Guwahati line. Another line passing through this station is Guwahati-Lumding line.

The Guwahati Junction comes under the Lumding division of North East Frontier Railways. It has seven platforms and all of them are well-connected through foot over bridges. Guwahati is a major stoppage for many long distance trains coming from all parts of India.

Major Trains That Halt at This Station Are:

  • Saraighat Express
  • Guwahati Jorhat Town Jan Shatabdi Express
  • Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express
  • Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express
  • Chennai Egmore Express
  • Ledo Kamakhya Inter City Express
  • Guwahati-Mumbai LTT Express
  • Dwarka Express
  • Amarnath Express
  • Kanchanjunga Express
  • Dibrugarh- Jhajha Express
  • Chandigarh- Dibrugarh Express

The main facilities for passengers at Guwahati Railway Station are food court, computerised ticket booking centres, waiting hall, restrooms. The station also has a paid parking for around one thousand vehicles at a time.

Kamakhya Railway station (KYQ):

As the pressure at the Guwahati Junction kept increasing, it became difficult to handle such a large number of trains. In order to decrease the stress and traffic from Guwahati Station, Kamakhya station was introduced. This station is used for running newly introduced trains. It lies on the Barauni-Guwahati line and has an elevation of 55 metres above sea level.

There are four platforms at Kamakhya station and the station has two entry/exit points.

Major Trains That Run From This Station Are:

  • Gandhidham – Kamakhya Express
  • Kamakhya – Dimapur Nagaland Express
  • Kamakhya – Alipur Duar jn Inter City Express
  • Anand Vihar-Kamakhya Express
  • Gaya-Kamakhya Express
  • Kamakhya -Fakiragram Passenger
  • Dibrugarh-Kamakhya Express
  • Kamakhya-Mumbai LTT-Karmabhoomi Express
  • Dibrugarh-Kamakhya Special Express
  • Kamakhya- Ranchi Express
  • Danapur- Kamakhya Capital Express (India)
  • New Delhi-Kamakhya Premium AC Special

Apart from that, there are five other railway stations in Guwahati that are listed below.  They are Agthori, Azara, New Guwahati, Narengi and Amingaon.

Agthori Station:

The Agthori railway station is located on the north Guwahati side in close proximity to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, but it does not have any basic amenities and facilities so it is not in use.

  • Azara Station:

This station is situated near Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, but here also there are no proper amenities and needs some renovations to handle trains and to be completely operational.

  • New Guwahati Station:

This station is situated near the Guwahati oil refinery, and hence, it is used for freight services only.

  • Narengi Station:

The Narengi railway station is used as a stoppage for trains that are coming from the north-eastern states. This station is also not fully developed and needs more basic amenities to be fully functional.

  • Amingaon Station:

This station is also not in use presently. This was used in the old times before the construction of Saraighat Bridge.

These are the railway stations in the Guwahati city.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations in Faridabad

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Indian Railways is owned by Indian government and is run by the Ministry of Railways. The total length of rail network of Indian Railways accounts for around 65,436 Km. It is amongst the largest rail networks across the globe. Annually, it carries around 8425 million passengers and more one thousand million tonnes of freight, which make it an important asset of the nation. Indian Railways is not only the best option of transportation for people of India, but it also offers the best services to the tourists coming from other countries.

Faridabad is one of the most important and oldest industrial towns of Northern India. It lies on the Grand Trunk Road or National Highway 2 which passes through the town.  The district of Faridabad was formerly a part of Gurgaon district and was declared as an independent district on 15th August 1979. Faridabad has a large industrial base ranging from Multinational automobile companies to small scale industries. This makes railways a very important asset for this town.

Faridabad city has a total of three railway stations namely Old Faridabad, New town Faridabad and Ballabgarh.

Old Faridabad Railway Station:

Old Faridabad Railway Station or FDB is at a distance of 25 KM from Delhi railway station and lies on the New Delhi-Mumbai line, which is a broad gauge line. It has an elevation of 206 metres above the sea level. The old Faridabad station was built in 1904 and it was electrified during the period from 1982 to 1985. It lies under the Delhi division of Northern railways. Faridabad is an important station for people of Faridabad as they use railways as the major transportation for commutation for work and education to Delhi NCR.

The station has four platforms that are well connected through a foot over bridge. There are two entry points for the station – one is towards NH-5 and the other one is towards G.T. Road.

Many trains for major cities of India like Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai are available from this station.

Some of The Major Trains That Have Faridabad as a Stoppage in Their Route Are:

  • Dakshin SF Express
  • Nizamudin Visakhapatnam Link SF Express
  • Meerut City-Mandasor Link Express
  • Jabalpur – Jammu Tawi (Durgawati) Express
  • Taj Express
  • Golden Temple Mail

Apart from these long distance trains, there is a long schedule of EMUs that run for local destinations such as Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Palwal, etc.

The facilities at old Faridabad railway stations are telephone booth, a computerised reservation centre and an unreserved ticket booking office. It also has a big waiting room and refreshment stalls. There is no parking facility at Old Faridabad railway station.

New Town Faridabad Railway Station:

The New Town Faridabad Railway Station or FDN is a small station that is located Near Bata Chowk at a distance of 5 KM from Old Faridabad Railway Station. It is not a major stoppage for long distance trains but is served by a network of EMUs and passenger trains. The station has two platforms and one entry/exit towards the Bata Over-bridge.

There are a small waiting room and a computerised ticket booking office at the station. The parking facility is not available at this station.

Ballabgarh Railway Station:

Ballabgarh Railway Station or BVH is a major station of Faridabad city and serves to a large population of the suburb of Ballabgarh. It has a total of four platforms and is well connected to the Ballabgarh capital bus stand. It has two entry/ exits, one towards G.T. Road and the other one is towards the industrial areas of sectors-24. Ballabgarh also has a big container yard with containers arriving from all parts of the country.

Apart from passenger and EMUs, there are many long distance trains that have stoppage at Ballabgarh station.

Some of The Major Trains That Have Stoppage at Ballabgarh Station Are:

  • Mumbai LTT – Amritsar (Pathankot) Express
  • Malwa Express
  • Udyan Abha Toofan Express
  • Mumbai Firozpur Janta Express

The facilities available at Ballabgarh station include computerised ticket booking office, both reserved and unreserved, a Railway police station, refreshment stalls, enquiry booth and large waiting area. The Ballabgarh station has a large paid parking area with a capacity of around 500 four-wheelers and around 2000 two-wheelers at the same time.

These are three major stations serving the city of Faridabad.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations at Secunderabad

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Secunderabad, the twin-city of Hyderabad, is in Telangana. It began as a British cantonment in 1806 and grew under the British influence. The Hussain Sagar is the dividing line between Secunderabad and Hyderabad. There are many army and air force establishments in Secunderabad.

Secunderabad Railway Station of the South Central Railway (SCR) is a big commuter rail hub in the twin-city urban area. It was built in 1874 and was the main station of the Nizam’s Railway until the Kachiguda Railway Station came into operation in 1916. The railways took over the operation in 1951. The station edifice looks like a fort and shows the influenced of Asaf Jahi architecture.

The Busy Junction:

Secunderabad has good connectivity by the rail network with all parts of the country. It is a busy station with as many as 190 trains passing through it every day. The station is used by over one lakh passengers.  Located on the Nanded-Guntakal and Vijayawada-Wadi railway lines, Secunderabad is also the SCR headquarters. Secunderabad has obtained the ISO-9001 certification for excellence in ticket, parcel and luggage booking and management of platforms. There is a proposal to expand it and develop it into a world-class station.

The Nizam’s Railways was set up in 1870 to connect the state with the rest of the country. The construction of Secunderabad station Secunderabad-Wadi line began the same year. The Nizam financed the project and the work was completed in 1874. The Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway, set up in 1879, took over the control. Secunderabad was linked with Singareni coal mines by a 235-km line, and, in 1889, the Secunderabad-Wadi line was extended to Vijayawada Junction.  The next year saw the opening of the Vijayawada Junction-Chennai Central broad gauge connection. Direct travel from Hyderabad to Chennai thus became possible. The Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway Company opened the Manmad-Secunderabad meter gauge line in 1900. The company was absorbed by Nizam’s State Railways in 1930. Kachiguda Railway Station was built as the headquarters and terminus of Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway In 1916. Nizam’s State Railway tried the diesel rail cars by Ganz in 1939.

Nationalization of Nizam Railways:

Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway was nationalized in 1951. Secunderabad station was included in Central Railway with Mumbai as its headquarters. The South Central Railway was formed in 1966 with Secunderabad as its headquarters. Rail Nilayam, the zonal headquarters of SCR, was built in 1972. The Secunderabad divisional headquarters came up in 1980.

The Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications, a training institute, was set up in Secunderabad in 1957. The Kachiguda-Manmad (via Secunderabad) Ajanta Express was introduced in 1967 and the Secunderabad-Vijayawada Junction Golconda Express was introduced in 1969. It was the fastest steam-hauled train in the country at the time and was run up to Guntur later.  The Secunderabad-Mahbubnagar meter gauge section was upgraded to broad gauge in 1993. Secunderabad-Kazipet-Vijayawada Junction stretch was electrified the same year.

Superfast Trains:

The Secunderabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express was launched in 2002. Two other Rajdhani trains, both from Bangalore City Railway Station, halt at the station. The Secunderabad-Vishakhapatnam Garib Rath Express operates daily and Secunderabad-Yeswanthpur (Bangalore) Garib Rath also halts at Secunderabad.

Secunderabad Station has 11 platforms and all can receive 24-coach trains and all the tracks are broad gauge tracks. The station has lines leading to 5 directions: to Kachiguda-Kurnool-Guntakal-Bangalore, to Malkajgiri-Bolaram-Nizambad-Nanded-Parbhani, to Vikarabad-Wadi, and to Bibinagar-Kazipet-Dornakal.

Secunderabad Station is also a center for suburban trains. These DHMU’s run on the non-electrified rail lines in the suburbs and on the electrified lines.

Many Facilities at Secunderabad Station:

Computerised reservation system was introduced at Secunderabad as early as 1989. The system was linked to New Delhi, Howrah, Mumbai and Chennai between 1997 and 1999. The passenger facilities at Secunderabad Railway Station include waiting halls, lodging, restaurants, coffee shop, cafes, book stalls, cloakrooms, cyber café, tourism agent counters, train status announcements, train inquiry counters, train status display boards and foot bridges. It also has stringent security and parking, including automated parking. The station has 45 cameras at different locations monitoring the situation. There is a pharmacy on Platform 1. It now has escalator on every platform. The station has air-conditioned and general waiting halls on platform No.1 and a dormitory on the first floor.

Water Recycling Plant:

The Secunderabad Railway Station has Rs 1.2 crore water recycling plant. Over 30,000 litres of water is required daily to wash 800 coaches and platforms. The used water is given biological and chemical treatment. It is good enough again for cleaning the coaches and platforms.

Railway Stations

Railway Stations at Ludhiana

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Ludhiana is Punjab’s most populous city and Northern India’s major industrial hub. It is situated on the old banks of the Sutlej River, 13 km from its present course. Ludhiana is run by a municipal corporation and is the headquarters of Ludhiana district.

Ludhiana A Major Junction:

Ludhiana Railway Station (station code LDH) is an important junction on Northern Railway’s main Delhi-Amritsar route in the Ferozepur division. Ludhiana has railway lines leading to Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Dhuri and Delhi. Ludhiana has a good connectivity with most cities in the country through the railway network. Daily or weekly trains link Ludhiana to Jammu, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Kanpur, Pathankot, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and other cities. Ludhiana is amongst the top 100 booking stations of Indian Railways. As many as 174 trains start and terminate at or pass through the Ludhiana Junction every day.

The Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway constructed the 483-km Amritsar-Ambala-Saharanpur-Ghaziabad line in 1870. The Southern Punjab Railway Company built the Ludhiana-Jakhal line in 1901 and opened the extension from the Macleodganj (now in Pakistan) to Ludhiana in 1905. The Sahnewal-Chandigarh rail link or the Ludhiana-Chandigarh rail link was inaugurated in 2013. The Mandi Gobindgarh-Ludhiana line was electrified in 1996–97. The Ludhiana diesel shed maintains more than 170 locos of various WDM types. An electric loco shed was launched at Ludhiana in 2001 and WAM-4, WAG-5 and WAG-7 locos are maintained there.

Inadequate Facilities:

The Ludhiana Railway Station has the usual facilities for the passengers like computerized reservation, inquiry counters, refreshment room, tea stall, book stall, waiting rooms, retiring rooms, telephones and drinking water. But these are far from adequate. It has only two waiting rooms, one general and the other for women. The number of seats available is too less for the people needing the facility.  The station is far from cleanliness and the case is similar with all the facilities.

More Ludhiana Stations:

Ludhiana has two more railway stations: Dhandari Kalan (station code DDL) and Kila Raipur. Both are in Northern Railway’s Ferozepur division. Dhandari Kalan has three platforms. It handles over 10 trains daily and serves about 15000 passengers.  Kila Raipur (station code QRP) has one platform. It handles about a dozen trains every day and also serves about 15000 passengers.

Amritsar-Kolkata Corridor:

The Central Government approved in 2014 the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor to boost manufacturing activity. The railway network will see a great expansion along with the project. A railway link dedicated to freight is expected to be part of the project. Ludhiana station lies on that corridor and will benefit by it greatly.

Metro for Ludhiana Uncertain:

The Punjab Government approved the29-km Ludhiana metro project as a public-private partnership or build operate transfer model in 2012. Of this, 22 km was to be elevated and 7 km underground.  Ayali Chowk- BBMB Power House and Gill Village-Rahon Road Chungi were to be the two proposed corridors. But the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and the Punjab Government have not been able to find the funds needed for the Rs 10,330-crore project and the project has remained on the back-burner.

Restaurants around Ludhiana Station:

The restaurants around the Ludhiana Railway Station include Friend Dhaba, Chawla’s Vegetarian, Sagar Ratna, Lark Dhaba, Pandit Paranthe Wala, Hong Kong, Restaurant, Sher-E-Punjab, Chawla’s 2, Kanpur Gyan Vegetarian, Dogra Dhaba, New Basant Ice Cream, Pursharthi Dhaba, Pishori Dhaba, Oberoi Cholle Bhature, Ashok Hotel Restaurant & Bear Bar, Bawa Chicken, Jhandu Sweets, Amritsar Nan, Satguru Sweets, SitaRam’s, Bansi Dhaba, Special Nashta, New Friends Vaishno Dhaba, Lucky Bakery, Shelkhapurlan Da Vaishno Dhaba, Prem Ice Cream Parlour, Wimpy, Indian Coffee House, Lucky Vaishno Dhaba and Adarsha Dhaba.

The Ludhiana Food:

Ludhiana’s tandoori food is popular across countries. An earthen oven dug in the ground fired by coal is used to cook chicken, meat, fish, rotis, paneer and naans. The Ludhiana gravy has Mughal roots and murg makhani is a typical example. Nans, parathas and rotis, all prepared in the tandoor, are the staples. Makki ki roti and sarson ka saag is another favourite combination. Ludhiana cuisine is spicy and full of desi ghee.  Rice is eaten only on special occasions, with rajma, kadhi or as some sort of pulav. Lassi is usually a permanent feature of Ludhiana meals.

Railway Stations

Railway Station in Nagpur

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Indian Railways is ranked amongst the widest and largest railway networks all over the world. It serves millions of people every day by taking them to their destinations on a daily basis. Indian Railways acts as the real lifeline of India as they are responsible for transporting people and tonnes of freight on their meant destination everyday without fail. Indian Railways is not only serving millions of people on a regular basis but is also one of the largest employers of the world. It has strength of around 1.3 million employees all across the country.

Nagpur is a magnificent in the state of Maharashtra in Western India. It is one of the largest cities of central India and acts as the second capital of the state of Maharashtra. In terms of population, Nagpur is the third largest city of the state, after Mumbai and Pune with a population of 2.0521 million in the census of 2001. Nagpur is a rapidly developing metropolis, and hence, it relies greatly on the services of Indian Railways for its development of infrastructure and other fields.

Railway Station in Nagpur:

Nagpur Railway Station or NGP is a very important junction of Maharashtra and has an elevation of 308.6 metres above the sea level. It holds a very significant role in terms of transport and communication for the city of Nagpur. The station was built in 1867 and comes under the control of Nagpur division of Central Railway Zone. Apart from Lucknow, Nagpur is the only city, which acts as headquarter for two zones of Indian Railways, which are South West Central Zone and Central Zone.

The Nagpur Railway Station has a total number of 10 platforms out of which 8 platforms are broad gauge and 2 platforms are narrow gauge. The number of tracks at this railway station is 13. It has a large paid parking area with a parking capacity of around 500 vehicles at a time.

The Main Lines That Pass Through Nagpur Railway Station Are:

  • Howrah Nagpur Mumbai Line
  • Nagpur Hyderabad Line
  • Nagpur Naghbir Section (Narrow Gauge)
  • Delhi Chennai Line
  • Nagpur Chindwara (Narrow Gauge)
  • Nagpur Bilaspur Line

The electrification of this station was done in three phase that is from 1988-89, 1990-91, and 1991-92.

There are a total of 242 local and express trains that pass or terminate at Nagpur Railway Station, which make it one of the busiest stations of the country. These 242 trains include Rajdhani, Garib Rath, Duronto, Passenger, and Mail trains. Due to such a large number of trains passing through this station, it is used by almost 1.6 lakh passengers every day.

Some Important Trains Passing This Station Are:

  • VishakhapatnamNizamudin Samata Express
  • CST Mumbai – Nagpur Duronto
  • BangaloreNizamudin Rajdhani Express
  • Nagpur-Ramakona-Chhindwara Passenger
  • Vidarbha Express
  • Nagpur-Bhusaval Passenger
  • Trivandrum Central-New DelhiKerala Express
  • Nagpur Bilaspur Express
  • Chennai Central-New DelhiTamil Nadu Express
  • Nagpur-Chhindwara Passenger
  • Mumbai Howrah Mail
  • Nagpur Indore Super Fast Express

Facilities At Nagpur Railway Station:

The facilities at Nagpur station are great for the passengers. It has a large waiting area that is located at the Platform No 1. The main building of the station has waiting rooms and retiring rooms for the passengers, who are waiting for connecting trains at Nagpur station. There is a multi-cuisine food court that is authorised by IRCTC where you can have some refreshment while waiting for your train. This food court has a seating capacity of 150 people. If you want to rest for a while, retiring rooms are available for you on rent. The rent for AC retiring rooms is Rs.250 while rent for Non-AC rooms is Rs.200.

Government has proposed a modernisation project for 22 major stations of Indian Railways and Nagpur station is also one of those stations. The work for modernisation off this station will be outsourced to the public and private partnership and the main areas that will be focused in this project would be cleanliness, safety and security at the station.

Another terminus at Ajni is also proposed which is meant to decrease the stress at the Nagpur station by diverting some the trains to this newly developed terminus. Due to its prime location, Nagpur serves as one of the most important railway stations of Indian Railways.

Railway Stations

Railway Station in Mysore – Famous Food & Restaurants

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Indian Railways is the true lifeline of India as it holds the responsibility for transportation millions of people and millions of tonnes of goods from one place to another on a daily basis. Without proper working of Indian Railways network, it is not possible for anybody to imagine a smooth and comfortable life. Indian Railways is not only one of the largest rail networks across the globe, but it is also one of the world’s biggest recruiters. It has strength of over 1.3 million employees working for it in every part of India.

Mysore is a beautiful and is third largest city of the state of Karnataka in South India. It has served as the capital of the kingdom of Mysore and is located at the base of Chamundi hills and has an area of 128 sq. Km. The city of Mysore is famous for its places such as Mysore Palace, Jaganmohana Palace, Jailakshmi Vilas and Lalitha Mahal. Other famous tourists’ places in Mysore include Chamundeshwari Temple, Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Park, etc.

Mysore Railway Station:
The railway station of Mysore was built in 1870 connecting the cities of Mysore and Bangalore. It comes under Mysore division of Southern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. It has an elevation of 760 metres above sea level and the station has six platforms, which are properly connected via a foot over bridge.

Mysore railway station also serves as a junction with a track joining Mysore from Bangalore and another from Hassan. Both of these lines join together before they enter the Mysore station. On the other side, the track proceeds to connect Mysore from Nanjangud and Chamrajnagar. It is proposed to be extended to Coimbatore, but the project is at halt as the forest area of Sathyamangalam lies on this route.

All the lines that connect Bangalore from Mysore are single track, which hinders the high speed, but the tracks are being doubled on the route after which the speed of the trains would be increased on this route.

Earlier, all the lines connecting Bangalore and Mysore were of meter gauge, which restricted the broad gauge trains from halting at Mysore. After the lines were converted from the meter gauge to broad gauge, all the trains which used to terminate at Bangalore station, now are extended to Mysore railway station.

The Major Trains That Halt At Mysore Station Are:
• Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi
• Mysore -Delhi H Nizamuddin Swarna Jayanti Super Fast Train
• Howrah-Mysore Super Fast
• Darbhanga-Mysore (Bagmati Exp)
• Mysore- Chennai Super Fast
• Mysore-Jaipur Super Fast
• Bangalore- Mysore- (Tippu Exp)

Facilities At The Mysore Railway Station:
The main facilities at the railway station of Mysore are a large waiting area, retiring rooms, both Ac and Non-Ac, food court, enquiry counters, computerised reserved and non-reserved ticket booking offices.

The station also has a spacious parking area for parking 1000 vehicles at a time. One of the major facilities available at the railway station of Mysore is the WiFi services and you can avail the services of WiFi within the range of 200 metres from the station.

Restaurants Near Mysore Railway Station:
When you visit Mysore railway station, you can also enjoy the delicious food served by the restaurants near railway station of Mysore. You can find traditional South Indian food along with international cuisine served in these restaurants.

Some Of The Famous Restaurants Near Railway Station Of Mysore Are:

  • TravelKhana
  • Hotel Govardhan, Sri. Harsha Road, Mysore
  • Hotel Siddhartha, Guest House Road, Nazarbad, Mysore
  • Veg Kourt, Sri Harsha Road, Mysore
  • Nakshathra, B.N. Road, Mysore
  • Hotel Mylari, Nazarbad Main Road, Nazarbad, Mysore
  • Bombay Tiffany’s, Devaraja Urs Road, Mysore
  • Bombay Indra Bhavan, Sayya ji Rao Road, Mysore

Food Delicacies Of Mysore:
When we are talking about cuisine of Mysore, most of the food served in Mysore is rice based like all other cities in this part of India. Idli and Dosas of different types with different types of chutneys are served and are speciality of Mysore.

Apart from that, many types of cereal salads like kosambri, Palyas, Gojju, and Tovve make an important part in the lunch of Mysore. Other rice based dishes of Mysore include Chitranna, Vangibath and bisbelebath.

The above are some attributes and features of the railway station of Mysore, which are waiting for you to mesmerise and please your senses and give you a memorable time.

All about Indian railway – Food Delivery in Train