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.