Shalimar Station
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Shalimar railway station is one of five intercity railway stations serving
Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
and
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, India. The other stations are in Kolkata,
Kolkata station Kolkata railway station (formerly known as Chitpur station) is the newest of the five intercity railway stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah station in Kolkata and Howrah station, Shalimar station and in Howrah. ...
in Kolkata,
Howrah Station Howrah railway station, also known as Howrah Junction, is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is also the oldest and largest existing railway complex in India. It is one of the busiest train stations in the w ...
in Howrah and
Santragachi Santragachi, or Santragachhi, is a residential neighbourhood in Howrah, Howrah district, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Santragachi Junction railway station, Santragachi ...
in Howrah. Shalimar station is situated at Shalimar, in
Shibpur Shibpur or Sibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the location of the ...
area of Howrah. It is one of the cleanest, most well-maintained and non-congested railway terminals in the
Kolkata Metropolitan Area Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan are ...
.


History

The place where now the station is situated was formerly a very small rail station, and served by some diesel loco hauled trains. The present platforms were occupied by some goods lines. Those lines were a part of large
Shalimar rail yard Shalimar rail yard served as a terminus for goods trains and hosted a rail yard since its inception in 1883. In recent years, it has been brought into the network of passenger train stations, developing into Shalimar Station, to reduce pressure ...
. In 2000, the first plan was conceived to use this area as a bigger rail station. The rapidly growing long-distance passengers were gradually overcrowding the Howrah station. Due to the limitation of space, new platform construction is restricted at Howrah. Although 3 new platforms (17, 22 & 23) were constructed at Howrah during 2006 – 2008, those were not sufficient. Side by side, due to its almost central position in Howrah, Howrah station is too busy for both suburban and long-distance rail traffic. Unlike Sealdah station, Howrah station has fewer suburban trains than long-distance trains. Due to increasing of Eastern Railway trains, many platforms, which were previously built for South Eastern Railway trains, now often occupied by Eastern Railway trains. But many people of Howrah feel that it is much easy to catch a long-distance train from Howrah than Santragachi, particularly in early morning and late night. But due to platform limitation, increasing the number of long-distance trains was not possible from Howrah for South Eastern Railway. To overcome this problem, South Eastern Railway suggested to Indian Railway officers to construct another bigger rail station at Howrah, mostly for long-distance trains. The many underused tracks of Shalimar yard was the first choice of the authority. Construction started from 2000. The construction of platforms, station buildings, and car parking area were started. After the completion, other tracks were re-aligned. The tracks around platform were completely electrified for passenger coaches shunting. At first, only one express train started. This train stopped later and then other long-distance trains started. From this time, diesel loco-hauled trains were replaced by EMU trains, which started suburban services.


Facilities

There is a taxi stand and a toto (e-rickshaw) stand outside the station. The nearest tram terminus was formerly
Shibpur Shibpur or Sibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the location of the ...
, but it was closed in 1971. There are small eateries serving snacks on the platform and eateries serving lunch outside the station.


See also

*
Howrah station Howrah railway station, also known as Howrah Junction, is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is also the oldest and largest existing railway complex in India. It is one of the busiest train stations in the w ...
*
Sealdah Station Sealdah (station code:SDAH) is one of India's major railway terminals serving the city of Kolkata. The other main railway stations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are , , and Santragachi. Sealdah Railway station is the busiest railway stat ...
*
Kolkata station Kolkata railway station (formerly known as Chitpur station) is the newest of the five intercity railway stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah station in Kolkata and Howrah station, Shalimar station and in Howrah. ...
*
Kolkata Suburban Railway The Kolkata Suburban Railway is a suburban rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in India. It is the largest suburban railway network in the country with the highest number of stations. It is also the 7th larg ...
*
Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
*
Trams in Kolkata The tram system in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, operated by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) after Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) was dissolved, is the oldest existing tram network operating in India, and oldest operating ...


References


External links


Shalimar Train Station
{{Kolkata topics Rail transport in Howrah Railway junction stations in West Bengal Kharagpur railway division Railway stations opened in 2000 Railway stations in Howrah district Kolkata Suburban Railway stations