Barddhaman Junction railway station

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Barddhaman Junction railway station (station code: BWN) is a major rail hub in Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal. Located on the Howrah–Delhi main line, it serves Bardhaman city and sees a high volume of traffic, with more than 300 trains stopping there every day.

Lines and connections
Barddhaman Junction sits at the heart of several important routes. It lies on the Howrah–Bardhaman main line and the Howrah–Bardhaman chord, and it connects to the Howrah–Delhi main line as well as branch lines to Bardhaman–Asansol and Bardhaman–Katwa. Trains from Howrah and nearby Kolkata stations head toward major destinations such as Gaya, Patna, Allahabad (Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay), and beyond.

Facilities
The station has eight platforms and ten tracks. It offers parking and bicycle facilities, plus on-platform high-speed Wi‑Fi. All platforms have escalators, with lifts on platforms 6 and 7. There are automated ticket machines and multiple food stalls, plus clean drinking water. Retiring rooms (two-bedded and four-bedded, non-AC) are available. The Barddhaman Coaching & Wagon Depot can hold up to 71 coaches and currently services EMU/MEMU trains; the depot now mainly houses electric locomotives.

History and electrification
The station opened in 1855, with the first Howrah–Bardhaman train running on 15 August 1855 and the line reaching Raniganj the same year. The Howrah–Bardhaman chord opened in 1917. The Bardhaman–Katwa line was upgraded to broad gauge in 2014 up to Balgona and extended to Katwa in 2018. Electrification of the Howrah–Bardhaman main line was completed in 1958, with the chord line electrified in the mid-1960s and the Bardhaman–Katwa section progressively electrified by 2018.

Safety and status
There have been several safety incidents at the station in recent years. Despite this, Barddhaman Junction remains a key and busy railway station in the Eastern Railway zone, serving as a major link between Howrah, Kolkata and many other destinations.