Lahore Junction Railway Station (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the

1857 War of Independence The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for defence of the structure. It is located at the junction between Circular Road and Allama Iqbal Road and bounded on the north side by the old Grand Trunk Road. The station is now owned by Pakistan Railways, and also serves as its headquarters.

History

Black hole walk - Lahore Railway Station

The station was built during the colonial era, and was built just outside the Walled City at the intersection of Empress Road, Allama Iqbal Road and Circular Road. Lahore Junction station was constructed by Mian Mohammad Sultan Chughtai, a former official of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

, between 1859 and 1860. The station was also a witness to a brutal lathi charge in British era that took place on 30 October 1928 near the premises of the junction when Indian leader Lala Lajpat Rai had led a protest march against the Simon Commission that had come to Lahore to discuss political reforms in the town. Rai was beaten by a wooden baton by the then Police Superintendent of Lahore and was badly wounded. Rai later died of his injuries on 17 November. The station served as the headquarters for the Punjab Railway and later would serve as the northern terminus of the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway, which connected the port city of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

to Lahore. The nearby Dai Anga Mosque was also converted into offices for the railways at this time. The station was built in the style of a medieval castle to ward off any potential future uprisings, as seen in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for defense of the structure. The station is a legacy of the extensive railway network established during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

, and reflects the British contribution to the region's infrastructure. The station was severely affected during the riots which followed the Partition of the British Indian Empire and the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Similar to the contemporaneous situation of Muslims fleeing

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

and

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

, Lahore's

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

were sometimes attacked at Lahore's train station.

Facilities

Lahore Junction Station is equipped with all basic facilities such as ticketing services, restrooms, waiting areas, and international fast food chains. The station has current and advance reservation offices for Pakistan Railways, as well as freight and parcel facilities. Retail shops are found mainly on platforms 1 and 2, including restaurants such as Pizza Hut and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

, in addition to restaurants offering Pakistani cuisine.

Services

These trains serve Lahore Junction station:

Gallery

File:General View of Railway Station 1895.jpg, alt=Railway Station Lahore, File:Front View of Lahore Railway Station 2019.jpg, General View of Railway Station in June 2019 File:Lahore railway station1880s.JPG, Far view of Railway Station in 1880s File:Fortifications of Railway Station 1895.jpg, Fortifications of Railway Station 1895 by William Henry Jackson File:Lahore Railway Station in 1880s.jpg, Railway Station in 1880s File:Lahore Railway Station Interior View 1880s.jpg, Railway Station Interior View 1880s File:Train platform at Lahore Railway Station.jpg, Train platform at Lahore Railway Station File:Lahore - entrance to railway station LCCN2004707734.jpg, Lahore - entrance to railway station 1895 File:Lahore - interior of railway station LCCN2004707735.jpg, Lahore - interior of railway station 1895 File:Lahore - general view of railway station LCCN2004707732.jpg, Lahore - general view of railway station 1895

References

External links