Howrah Station is situated in the twin city of Kolkata- Howrah. It was founded in 1854 during the British era. In the same year, the first train ran from the station to Pandua. Today Howrah Station is looked at as one of the largest railway terminals in the country. The station serves the purpose of both Howrah and Kolkata. The railway station is located on the West bank of the Hooghly River. But it is well connected with the magnificiently massive Howrah Bridge. The connecting Howrah Bridge is regarded as a masterpiece landmark of Kolkata. Howrah Station is reckoned as the second oldest station in India.
In 1854, during the period of British Colonial government, the authorities had started constructing a second railway link from Kolkata to the coalfields in Bardhaman district after the first one from Mumbai to Thaney, built in 1853. Howrah used to be a small town near the river Hooghly then. A single line track was made at first; a station was also built there but it was meant for goods only. In 1901 as traffic gradually increased, a new station building was propounded. British engineer Halsey Ricardo envisioned the new station head house. It started serving from 1st December 1905. Today this building has 23 platform tracks.
During the 80s, the station building was extended and another 8 platform tracks were incorporated. A new Yatri Niwas (transit passenger facility) was also built in the station. Howrah Station is projected to have a facelift of additional 15 platform tracks North of the present station in the next decade to bring it to a total of 37 tracks.
The Howrah Station serves the Kolkata urban area via the Kolkata suburban railway. It also branches to other numerous places across India. Howrah Station with its 23 platforms, caters to over three hundred trains daily. More than a million passengers are served daily by the station. The station has two zones of the Indian Railways, namely Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway. But the station is administered by the Eastern Railway. Eastern Railway initially was known as East Indian Railway (EIR). The chief route of Eastern Railway was from Kolkata to Delhi. South Eastern Railway was known as the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. Linking the Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) route to Mumbai, railway line was built from Kolkata to Nagpur connecting the GIP route to Chennai and the trunk route to Vijaywada.
Howrah-Delhi, Howrah-Mumbai, Howrah-Chennai and Howrah-Guwahati-- these four routes are considered the four most important trunk rail routes of India. The collective four culminate in Howrah Station. Howrah Station also remains the first terminal in the country to have been host of the inaugural run of the prestigious Rajdhani Express between Howrah and New Delhi in 1969.
As Howrah Station is reckoned as one of the most important railway stations, facilities related to passengers are like any other major important railway stations in India. The station has a sheltered waiting area between the head house and the platforms. There are Waiting Rooms and Retiring Rooms for the passengers in the head house. Howrah Station also has a Yatri Niwas that provides dormitory accommodation to passengers. Towards the Northern side of the station, a new Railway Museum has been opened that showcases artefacts of historical grandness related to the evolution of Eastern Railway.
The station includes- Diesel Loco shed (50+ locos), Electric Loco Shed (65+ locos), EMU Car Shed (15+ parking slots) and Coach Maintenance Complex servicing which gives shelter to many prestigious trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Expresses. Some major trains operating from Howrah Station are-- Ahmedabad Express, Amritsar Mail, Asansol Express, Azadhind Express, Black Diamond Express, Bombay Mail(via-Allahabad), Bombay Mail (via-Nagpur), Chambal Express, Coal Field Express, Coromandal Express, Danapur Express, Delhi Janata Exp, Dhauli Express, Doon Express, East-coast Express, Falaknama Express, Gitanjali Express, Guwahati-Bangalore Exp, Guwahati-Kochin Exp, Guwahati Trivandrum, Hatia(Ranchi) Express, Himgiri Express, Ispat Express, Jamalpur Express, Kalka Mail (Delhi), Kamrup Express, Kathgodam Express, Kurla Super Deluxe, Kurla Express, Madras Mail, Mithila Express, Poorva Express, Puri Express, Purulia Express, Purvanchal Express, Rajdhani Express (Delhi via-Gaya), Rajdhani Express (Delhi via-Patna), Rajdhani Express Bhubaneshwar-Delhi, Rajdhani Express Delhi-Bhubaneshwar, Rampurhat Express, Rayagada Express, Saraighat Express, Shaktipunj Express, Shantiniketan Exp, Shatabdi Express, Shipra Express, Sri-Jagannath Express, Steel Express, Tirupati Express, Trichy Express, Trivandrum Express, Udayan Abha Toofan etc.
