Howrah railway station

Old view of Howrah railway station

Present view of Howrah railway station

In 1849, a contract was signed between the East Indian Railway Company and East India Company and an initial amount allocated for the first section between Howrah and Raneegunge (Raniganj) via Pandooah (Pandua, Hooghly) and Burdwan (Bardhaman).^[14] Frederick Walter Simms, the consulting engineer to Government of India, initially envisaged a station on the right side of Hooghly in 1846. However, after the funds were sanctioned, Howrah was chosen as the terminus for the new line.^[15] A bridge spanning 1,700 feet (520 m) across the Hooghly River was considered unfeasible at the time.^[16] In the following years, discussions frequently arose about connecting the rail line to Calcutta.^[16]

On 17 June 1851, George Turnbull, the Chief Engineer of the East Indian Railway Company and his team of engineers submitted plans for a railway station at Howrah. Unaware of the future significance of railways in India, the government decided against purchasing the land and expensive waterfront required for the project in January 1852. Turnbull then developed alternative development plans that estimated the cost at 250,000 rupees. In October 1852, four tenders for the building of the station were received: they varied from 190,000 to 274,526 rupees.^[17][18] The size of the construction project - of whether Howrah should be a large station or Howrah be a smaller station in favour of a larger station being developed at another time - was debated from time to time during this process.^[19] Eventually land was bought.^[19]

The first experimental locomotive left Howrah on 18 June 1853^{[citation needed]} for the 37.5 miles to Pandoah.^[17][18] There was a gap between laying the line and opening it up since the ship carrying the carriages sank while the locomotive ended up in Australia. Eventually the carriages were built locally and the locomotive was directed to Calcutta.^[20] The first public departure from Howrah for the 23.5 miles to Hooghly was on 15 August 1854.^[21] During this period, the station was located at what is now the office of the divisional railway manager of Howrah.^[22] It consisted of one line and platform, a ticket window and a supporting building.^[8] Two weeks later the line to Pundoah was opened.^[21] In the first 4 months, over 109,000 passengers used the service.^[21] The locomotive was of the same type as the Fairy Queen.^[23]

Indians on their way to European colonies in the early 1800s came through the Howrah Station.^[24]

The increase of residents in the region around Howrah and Kolkata and the booming economy lead to an increasing demand for rail travel. Also, the rail network kept on growing continuously, e.g. was the bridge over the Rupnarayan River at Kolaghat completed on 19 April 1900 and connected Howrah with Kharagpur.^[25] The Bengal-Nagpur Railway was extended to Howrah in 1900, thus making Howrah an important railway centre.^[26] So in 1901, a new station building was proposed. The British architect Halsey Ricardo designed the new station.^[26] It was opened to the public on 1 December 1905,^[26][27] and completed by 1911.^[22]

In the 1980s, the station was expanded to 15 platforms.^[28] At the same time, a new Yatri Niwas (transit passenger facility) was built south of the original station frontage.

The new terminal complex was finished in 1992, creating a total of 19 platforms.^[28] This was extended by a further four platforms in 2009.^[28]

On 3 March 1969, the inaugural Rajdhani Express departed Howrah for New Delhi.^[29][28] In October 2011, India's first double-decker train, Howrah–Dhanbad Double Decker Express, left Howrah for Dhanbad.^[30] The first service of the Antyodaya Express, the Howrah–Ernakulam Antyodaya Express, was inaugurated in February 2017.^[31]

As per Indian Green Building Council^[when?], it was awarded CII-IGBC Silver Rating becoming the first green railway station among metropolitan cities in India.^[32][33][34]

The book Vibrant Edifice: The Saga of Howrah Station by Eastern Railways was released in 2005.^[35] This was written to celebrate the centenary of the building.

Major trains that originating from Howrah Junction:^{[citation needed]}

The Eastern Railway runs local trains to Belur Math, Tarakeswar, Arambagh, Goghat, Katwa, Bandel, Sheoraphuli, Bardhaman, Serampore and numerous intermediate stations (see Howrah–Bardhaman main line, Howrah–Bardhaman chord and Tarakeswar branch line). There are also mail and express trains to Central, North and North-East India. A narrow-gauge line formerly used to connect Bardhaman and Katwa, served by DMU trains; but now this line is also converted to broad gauge and used by EMU trains like all the other lines.^[38]

The South Eastern Railway, operates local trains to Amta, Mecheda, Panskura, Haldia, Tamluk, Medinipur and Kharagpur and mail and express trains to Central, West and South India. South Eastern Railway, connects with the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) route to Mumbai and Chennai.

The Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway sections are connected by two links. One is the Lilua–Tikiapara link (used only by goods train) and the other is the Rajchandrapur/Dankuni–Santragachhi/Andul link, which is used by goods trains and some express trains avoiding Howrah.^{[citation needed]}

Four major rail routes end at Howrah. They are the Howrah–Delhi, Howrah–Mumbai, Howrah–Chennai and Howrah–Guwahati routes.^{[citation needed]}

The station is the divisional headquarters for the Eastern Railway.

The station has 22 platforms. Platforms 1 to 15 are located in the old complex, referred to as "Terminal 1". It serves the local and long-distance trains of Eastern Railway and local trains of South Eastern Railway. Platforms 17 to 23 are in the new complex, referred to as "Terminal 2". It serves the long-distance trains of South Eastern Railway. Currently Platform No. 8 in "Terminal 1" is the longest in Howrah Station at 961 metres (3,153 ft), followed by Platform No. 21 in "Terminal 2" which is 930.25 metres (3,052.0 ft) long & Current Platform No. 1 "Terminal 1" in which is 916 metres (3,005 ft) long. Work is going on at Platform No. 1 far end to link the 380 metres (1,250 ft) long Goods Train Platform under Bankim Setu, which is slated to be completed by 2025. Once completed Platform No. 1 of Howrah Station "Terminal 1" will measure a staggering 1,296 metres (4,252 ft) in length & become the 3rd Longest railway Platform in India & in the World. Indian Railways are also constructing Platform No. 16 in "Terminal 1" and Platform No. 24 and 25 in "Terminal 2" as envisioned to expand this railway junction.^[39]

There is a large covered waiting area between the main complex and the platforms and other areas for passengers awaiting connecting trains. Free wifi is present at the station.^[40][41] In addition, there is a transit passenger facility with dormitory, single-room and double-room accommodation. First-class passengers wait in an air-conditioned area with balcony views of the Kolkata Skyline and the Howrah Bridge.

The station platforms have carriageways for motor vehicles within the complex including two carriageways to platforms 8 and 9 for Eastern Railway and to platforms 21 and 22 for South Eastern Railway. Flyovers at the ends of the platforms allow motor vehicles to exit the complex quickly.

Sampath Rail Yatri Niwas and Regional Rail Museum are a part of "Terminal 2" Howrah station complex.^[42][43]

The electric-locomotive shed has room for 96 locomotives. There is also an electric-trip shed with the capacity to hold up to 20 locomotives. The sheds accommodate 175+ WAP-4, WAP-5, and WAP-7 locomotives. The EMU car shed has over 15 parking slots. The station has a coach maintenance complex.^{[citation needed]}

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  Abandoned ticket counter inside the ferry subway
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  Smooth interchange between train, taxi and ferry service
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  Ferry terminus side entrance of subway
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  Howrah station
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  General ticket counter at old building
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  British Era wooden ticket counter is still active in old building
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  Platform of Howrah Station
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  Different icons of Kolkata & Howrah is being displayed by mosaic at waiting place
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  An abandoned narrow gauge steam loco is being displayed in front of old building
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  Howrah station bus terminal
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  Public buses near Howrah railway station entrance
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  Waiting Travelers at Howrah Railway Station
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  Howrah metro station
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  Evening View
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  Howrah station night view
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  Eastern & South Eastern lines are splitting
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  Remains of Shibpur bound tram tracks under remains of Buckland bridge