Top 10 Biggest Railway Stations in India

Indian railway is one of the world’s largest railway network with over 67,368 kilometers of the route and  covering121,407 kilometers of track. It is the 4th largest railway network in size. When it comes to the number of employees, Indian Railway is the world 8th largest network. It was founded 173 years ago and is now operated by the ministry of the railway. The total distance that is covered by Indin Railway per day is almost equal to three and a half times distance to the Moon. Not just this, in terms of tracking the total tracks in India, can make a round of equator one and a half times.

Indian railway has more than 20,000 passenger trains running daily across 7,349 stations in India. Ever wondered about the top 10 biggest railway station in India? It can be compared and listed in many ways by platforms, a number of passengers etc, we have gathered the list of the biggest railway station in India in terms of a number of platforms. These platforms are one of the busiest stations due to its high passenger crowd as well as numbers of a train passing through these stations.

List of Biggest Railway Stations in India

10. Patna Junction railway station

To start from the bottom, The 10th in the list is Patna Junction Railway station. The station code is PNBE. It was opened back in 1862 as the name of  Bankipore Junction in bankipore town. There are total 10 Platforms and 15 number of tracks. All the platform are interconnected by foot over bridge. There are electric escalators. As of the survey in 2013, there are more than 3 lakh passengers traveling per day in the station.

The station was electrified in 2003-2004. It has all the facilities you need including Mechanised cleaning, battery car for handicapped, free WiFi in entire railway junction, free Ro mineral water etc. Moreover, waiting room with vegetarian and nonvegetarain food is available with tea stalls, food corners, etc.

9. Vijayawada railway station

The station code is BZA. Vijayawada railway station is located at Vijayawada at Andhra Pradesh. The station has 10 platforms and 16 number of tracks. The Vijayawada Railway station was founded 130 years ago in 1888. It handles over 247 Trains per day. As a result, Vijayawada Railway station also comes in the list of top busiest railway stations in India.

Also, the station has a various satellite station in order to avoid the congestion to the main station. It has all the facilities needed and includes bicycle for the handicapped. It serves over 50 million passengers annually. The average train stop for 15-20 minutes in the station. The fastest steam-hauled train in India ran from Vijayawada Railway station to Secunderabad. The name of the train was Golconda Express and first ran in 1969.

8. Gorakhpur Junction railway station

 It is located in the city of Gorakhpur at Uttar Pradesh (UP). It was founded in 1830 and on On 6 October 2013 the Gorakhpur Junction Railway station became the world’s longest railway station by stretching and renovating Gorakhpur Yard by around 1.35 Km. The station is electrified and handles over 365000 per day.

The station has a total of 10 platforms and 26 number of tracks. It serves over 189 trains daily. In spite of being one of the longest stations, there are many other stations which are busier and has a number of platforms as compared to Gorakhpur Junction Railway station.

7. Kanpur central

The code os the station is CNB. It is also known as Cawnpore Barracks. The CNB is one of the five central railway stations in India. It has 10 platforms and the number of tracks is 19. In terms of the number of trains, It handles over 252 Trains per day. It was founded in 1930 and electrified in 1972 from Howrah and 1976 till New Delhi.

It has more than 3.5 Lakh passengers traveling per day. 380 stations are directly connected to Kanpur Central. It is included in “50 World-Class Railway Stations” budget. In Kanpur, it is a major intercity rail as well as the commuter rail station.

6. Allahabad Junction railway station

Allahabad Junction railway station is located in Allahabad district. It is the headquarter of North Central Railway Zone. The station code is ALD. The station has 11 number of platforms and 15 tracks. It was founded in 1859 and electrified 1965-1966. It was previously named as East Indian Railway Company. Allahabad is among the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.

There are special arrangements made due to the increase in the number of passengers at the time of Kumbh Mela. It also consists of engineering workshops. Two trains fro, the list of top forty-four fastest-running trains starts their journey from Allahabad junction and also ends here.

5. New Delhi Railway Station

New Delhi station is situated between  Ajmeri Gate and Paharganj. It is the main railway station in Delhi. The code for the station is NDLS.The station consists of 16 platform and 18 tracks. There are 5 lines in the stations. It was opened in 1926 and is included in the Northern Railway zone. It serves over 500,000+ passengers in a day. Approx ₹8 million were spent to enable free wifi facility in the station.

More than 400 Trains travels through the station, most of them start and ends here. When it comes to the number of trains and passenger, New Delhi station is one of the busiest stations in India. Around 867 stations are directly connected to New Delhi Railway Station.

4. Chennai Central

Chennai Central goes by station code MAS. It has 17 Platforms. which consist of 12 Long-Distance and 5 Suburban. It has total 30 Number of tracks. 269 passenger trains.  The Total of 644 Stations is directly connected to Chennai Central. Chennai Central station is the hub of Chennai Suburban Railway. As of 2015, it handles over 750,000 per day in Peak hours and 500,000 per day on average.

It was founded in 1873. Since then it has been rebuilt twice. The first rebuilt was in 1959 and the second one occurred in 1988. The station is electrified. It is built in the Gothic Revival style. The first station was designed by George Harding and had only four platforms. The station made its place in Guinness Book of Records for having the largest route interlocking system in the entire world.

3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station

The 3rd in the top 3 List of Biggest Railway station is Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station. The station is also called Victoria Terminus. It has 18 Platforms out of the 7 are for suburban train and the rest is for intercity trains. It was built 165 years ago in May 1853. Later on, Rebuilt in May 1888. Also, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The station has been renamed four times. It comes in Central Railway Zone.

It is designed in Victorian Gothic style. The architecture style is Indo-Saracenic. For this reason, it is the most photographed building in the country of course after Taj Mahal. It is an attraction for film shooting. Moreover, it was also featured in BBC Show World’s Busiest Railway 2015.

2. Sealdah Railway station

 It is one of the major terminus in Kolkata, Indi a. The code for the station is SDAH. It has 20 Platforms and 20 tracks. It is operated by Eastern Railway. It started in 1869. It is an important suburban rail terminal and one of the busiest Railway Station in India. The station was electrified 58 years ago back in 1960.

Sealdah railway station was first called Eastern Bengal Railway, later on, was changed to Bengal Assam Railway and then it became Sealdah Railway Station. After the completion of  Kolkata Metro Line 2, it will pass through Sealdah. It has all the needed facilities including A grade waiting rooms, facilities for handicapped etc.

1. Howrah Railway Station

Howrah Railway Station is the first among the top 10 biggest railway station in India. The Howrah railway station has 23 Platforms and 25 tracks. The code is HWH and comes in the division of Howrah. It was built 165 years ago back in 1854. Later on, it was electrified in 1954. The daily average of passenger trains passing through the station is 687. It serves more than 1 Million passengers per day and has a very high capacity to handle them all perfectly.

The number of the station which is directly connected to Howrah Railway Station is 1373. The station serves Kolkatta and Howrah. Howrah-Amritsar Express train holds the record of maximum stops an express train has. It has 115 stops. The first Indian Double Decker train was from Howrah to Dhanbad. Not just the double-decker train, the first Rajdhani express was from New Delhi to Howrah.

Indian Railway is constantly improving all of its station, experience, and facilities. There may be many more such big stations in India in upcoming years. Ever wondered which is the longest name of the station?  Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta  is one of the longest railway station in India. It is situated in Andhra Pradesh on the border with Tamil Nadu.