Bidhannagar Road railway station

Bidhannagar Road (Bengali: বিধাননগর রোড) is a Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station on the Sealdah–Ranaghat line. It is linked to the Sealdah South lines via Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt railway station. It is located in Ultadanga, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It serves Ultadanga, Kankurgachi, Bidhannagar and other surrounding areas.

Bidhannagar Road বিধাননগর রোড
Kolkata Suburban Railway station
Bidhannagar Road railway station platform
General information
Location	Ultadanga, Kolkata, West Bengal India
Coordinates	22°35′28″N 88°23′27″E / 22.591230°N 88.390737°E / 22.591230; 88.390737
Elevation	8.00 metres (26.25 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Eastern Railway
Line(s)	Sealdah–Ranaghat line
Platforms	4
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	Not available
Bicycle facilities	Not available
Accessible	Not available
Other information
Status	Active
Station code	BNXR
Zone(s)	Eastern Railway
Division(s)	Sealdah
History
Opened	1862; 161 years ago (1862)
Electrified	1963–1964; 59 years ago (1964)
Previous names	Eastern Bengal Railway
Services Preceding station Kolkata Suburban Railway Following station Sealdah Terminus Eastern Line Main line Dum Dum Junction towards Ranaghat Junction Chord link Line Dum Dum Junction towards Dankuni Junction Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt towards Dum Dum Junction Circular Line Dum Dum Junction Terminus
Location

Naming

Under the initiative of former West Bengal Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the town was built by pumping the alluvium containing the Ganges' saline water to fill the low-lying areas, hence the name was made 'Saline Lake' or 'Salt Lake'. In 1972, under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress was to be held in this 'Salt Lake'.

Congress delegates from all over India kept coming through Ultadanga station of Indian Railways. Incidentally, at that time, i.e. in 1972 AD, the name of 'Salt Lake' town was changed to 'Bidhanagar' and 'Ultadanga railway station' was renamed to 'Bidhanagar Road railway station'.

Design

The station is rather uniquely designed. Platform no. 2 and 3 share the same island platform. However, the platform is very long (double the length of a normal platform) and is half the width of an island platform serving trains of both sides. The southern half of the platform is used as platform 2 and the northern half is used as platform 3. The section of track which is not being used by the platforms has been fenced to provide safety from the accelerating trains.

History

 

Bidhannagar Road railway station with underpass

The Sealdah–Kusthia line of Eastern Bengal Railway was opened to traffic in 1862.^[1] Eastern Bengal Railway worked on the eastern side of the Hooghly River.^[2]

Electrification

The Sealdah–Ranaghat sector was electrified in 1963–64.^[3]

Handling Capacity

Bidhannagar Road railway station handles 975,000 passengers every day, with about 325 trains in both directions.^[4]

Connections

Bus

Bus route number 12C/2, 30C/1, 32A, 43/1, 44, 44A, 45, 46, 46A, 46B, 47/1, 79D, 91C, 201, 206, 211, 211B, 215, 215A, 215A/1, 217, 217A, 217B, 221, 223, 237, L238, 253, 260, DN8, DN16/1, DN17, KB16, KB17, KB21, KB22, JM2, JM4, 007, K1, 5 (Mini), 20 (Mini), 20A (Mini), 29 (Mini), S138 (Mini), S151 (Mini), S152 (Mini), S171 (Mini), S172 (Mini), S175 (Mini), S184 (Mini), C14/1, C41, C42, C48, D7/1, D11A, D20, D22, E17, E25, E25A, E36, E39, E46, E47, MX1, MX3, S12C, S14C, S16, S19, S21, S30A, S30D, S37, S37A, S58, T11, 15, AC2, AC10, AC30, AC30S, AC35, AC37, AC37C, AC39, AC49A, AC50, AC50A, ACT5, ACT7, ACT9, M4, M10, MN5, MN10, MN20, MW7, V1, VS1, VS2, VS14, ST7, ST15, ST21 serve the station.^[5]

Metro

Shyambazar metro station, Shobhabazar Sutanuti metro station, Bengal Chemical metro station and Phoolbagan metro station are located nearby.

Tram

Tram route number 18 serves the station.

Air

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is about 9 km at the distance via VIP Road.

See also

• Dum Dum Junction railway station
• Sealdah railway station
• Belgharia railway station

References

1. "IR History: Early days (1832–1865)". IRFCA. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
2. "Eastern Bengal Railway". fibis. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
3. "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
4. "Bidhan Nagar". Railenquiry.in. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
5. "Bus Services".

External links

• Long-distance trains at Bidhannagar Road
•   Kolkata/North Kolkata travel guide from Wikivoyage

 

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