Asansol Junction railway station

Asansol Junction
Express train & Passenger train station
Asansol railway station
Location	Station Road, Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal India
Coordinates	23°41′29″N 86°58′29″E / 23.69131°N 86.974792°E / 23.69131; 86.974792Coordinates: 23°41′29″N 86°58′29″E / 23.69131°N 86.974792°E / 23.69131; 86.974792
Elevation	96 metres (315 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Eastern Railway zone South Eastern Railway zone
Line(s)	Bardhaman-Asansol section and Asansol-Patna section of Howrah-Delhi main line Asansol-Gaya section of Grand Chord and Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line
Platforms	7
Connections	Arrival, Departure time: 131 (manual), 133 (pre-recorded) Reservation Enquiry: +91 341 2204630
Construction
Structure type	Standard (on ground station)
Parking	Available
Bicycle facilities	Available
Other information
Status	Functioning
Station code	ASN[1]
Zone(s)	Eastern Railway zone South Eastern Railway zone
Division(s)	Asansol
History
Opened	1863-64
Electrified	1957-1962
Previous names	East Indian Railway Bengal Nagpur Railway

Asansol Junction railway station is a model railway station in Asansol Sadar subdivision of Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the eight busiest railway station in India in terms of frequency of trains after Kanpur Central, Vijayawada Junction, Delhi Junction, New Delhi, Ambala Cant, Howrah and Patna Junction. Around 171 trains passes through the station daily. It serves Asansol and the surrounding areas.

Overview

Asansol railway station nameplate

History

station platform

station platform board

During the middle of the nineteenth century, Carr, Tagore and Company transported coal from Narayankuri ghat on the Damodar River to Kolkata, then known as Calcutta. However, as the flow of water in the river was inconsistent, supplies were irregular. In order to capture the lucrative coal transport business, East Indian Railway, extended the railway track that had been laid between Kolkata and Hooghly to Raniganj in 1855 and up to Asansol in July 1863.^[3][4][5]

• A historic outline map of the Raniganj Coalfield Limited showing the proposed extension of railway tracks from Raniganj to Asansol
• 

The East Indian Railway needed land to develop the infrastructure for the railways. While the Searsol Raj, then the zamindar in the Raniganj area, refused to provide the land, the Panchakot Raj, then functioning from Kashipur, agreed to provide the land in Shergarh, of which Asansol was then a part in 1863-64, East Indian Railway purchased a large area of jungle land from the Panchakot Raj, thereby initiating the development of Asansol as an industrial area.^[4][5]

Subsequently, Asansol gained further in importance. What was later known as the Sahibganj Loop was the first line from Kolkata to Delhi and the first direct train started in 1866, but the shorter line via Asansol and Jhajha came up in 1871. It was initially called the Chord line but as it attracted more traffiic, was rechristened the main line and the earlier main line became Sahibganj loop. With the completion of the Sitarampur-Gaya-Mughalsarai Grand Chord in 1901 (formally inaugurated in 1906 and finally opened in 1907), the Kolkata-Delhi rail distance became even shorter, and Asansol started functioning as the junction station of the main and chord lines, as Sitarampur, the actual junction, near Asansol, is a comparatively smaller station.^[5][6]

While momentous developments were taking place in connecting Delhi and Kolkata by rail, Bengal Nagpur Railway extended its tracks to the Asansol coal belt in 1887, thus connecting Adra with Asansol.^[3]

The railway establishment at Asansol contributed substantially to its development and growth.^[4]

Electrification

Electrification of the railways gained momentum in the early fifties. Although initial installations were with 3 kV DC traction, the railways subsequently adopted the 25 kV AC system. Electrification of the Bardhaman-Mughalsarai section was completed in 1957 and the Howrah-Gaya stretch was electrified by around 1960.^[7] The Tatanagar-Adra-Asansol section was electrified in the 1957-1962 period.^[8]

Locomotive shed

Asansol is home to the oldest electric locomotive shed of Indian Railways. It houses WAG-5 and WAM-4 WAG-7 and WAG-9 electric locomotives.^[9]

Asansol Division

Asansol Junction

Established in 1925, Asansol Division is one of the oldest divisions of Indian Railways. On the Howrah-Delhi main line, its jurisdiction extends from the distant signal of Khana junction to the distant signal of Jhajha . On the Grand Chord line its jurisdiction extends up to the distant signal of Pradhankhunta. Branch lines under its jurisdiction are: Andal-Sainthia, Andal-Tapasi-Barabani-Sitarampur, Madhupur-Giridih, Jasidih-Baidyanathdham and Jasidih-Dumka. With a total of 565 route kilometers, the division has quadruple lines (two up and two down line) from Khana to Sitarampur. It handles 100 mail/express trains daily and 212 passenger train runs per day. The number of originating passengers per day is 144,070.^[10]

Passenger movement

Asansol is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.^[11] 152 trains (including weeklies and bi-weeklies) originate or pass through Asansol railway station.^[12] All trains including Sealdah Rajdhani, Howrah Rajdhani, Howrah Duronto, Sealdah Humsafar Express, Yuva Express and Shalimar Duronto stops at Asansol Junction except Sealdah Duronto.

Amenities

Asansol railway station has 3 double-bedded AC retiring rooms, 2 double-bedded non-AC retiring rooms and an eight-bedded dormitory. Escalators are present at platform no. 2 & 7.^[13] WiFi service also available here. Food Plaza available in station premises and open 24/7. It also has an air-conditioned Premium Lounge for upscale passengers.

References

Railways in Asansol
km to Mughalsarai Junction via Grand Chord to Mughalsarai Junction via Main Line 9 Sitarampur Sodepur colliery siding to Andal via Barabani line Radhanagar (Chinakuri & Seetalpur colliery sidings) 5 Barachak Hirapur Exchange Yard of IISCO Steel Plant of SAIL IISCO Damodar Yard/IISCO Burnpur Siding to Adra / Damodar / Burnpur Burnpur Airstrip 0 Mohishila/Asansol Junction Freight bypass to Damodar station 6 Kalipahari Asansol Airfield to Bardhaman
Sources: [1][2]

Bardhaman–Asansol section
km Asansol-Adra line 111 Burnpur Asansol–Gaya section & Howrah–Delhi Main Line 106 Asansol Junction Grand Trunk Road Mohishila Freight Bypass to Damodar 101 Kalipahari Nunia River 92 Nimcha Halt Nimcha Colliery Siding 88 Raniganj Damodar River Mejia Thermal Power Station 83 Baktarnagar Halt Andal–Sitarampur branch line Andal–Sainthia branch line 80 Andal Andal Marshalling Yard 74 Pinjrapol Halt Durgapur Thermal Power Station Durgapur Steel Plant 72 Waria Alloy Steels Plant Raturia Angadpur industrial area Durgapur Projects Limited 64 Durgapur Jai Balaji Industries Indian Oil Corporation depot 56 Rajbandh 48 Panagarh NH 19 (Grand Trunk Road) 38 Mankar 29 Paraj 23 Galsi 20 Ishan Chandi Halt Sahibganj Loop 13 Khana to Bankura–Masagram line (under construction) 8 Talit Bardhaman–Katwa line 0 Barddhaman Junction Howrah–Bardhaman main line & Howrah–Bardhaman chord km
Sources: [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Adra–Asansol line
km to Bardhaman- Asansol section 0 Asansol Junction to Asansol-Gaya section of Grand Chord 5 Burnpur IISCO Steel Plant (Steel Authority of India Limited) to Kalipahari (freight line) Colliery sidings 11 Damodar Damodar River 16 Madhukunda 23 Muradi Parbeliya Colliery 28 Ramkanali 33 Bero 38 Joychandi Pahar to Adra-Gomoh branch line 42 Adra Junction to Adra-Kharagpur line to Adra-Purulia line

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asansol Railway Station.

• Trains at Asansol

Asansol travel guide from Wikivoyage