Howrah Station Kolkata

One of the major and the oldest railway stations in India is the Howrah Station (Code: HWH) just outside Calcutta in the district of Howrah, also known as Calcutta’s twin city, in West Bengal. It is the main gateway along the rail route to eastern and north-eastern India. Travellers has to cross the Howrah Bridge to enter or leave Calcutta from the Howrah station.

It was built in 1905 by the then British rulers and designed by British architect Halsey Ricardo, although trains started plying from here from 1854, when just a small shed was built. Initially built for the purpose of goods turnover, today not a single goods train is allowed to enter the station for want of space. It is the second oldest station in the country after the Bombay station or the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus.

It is one of the busiest stations in terms of passenger turnover as well as the number of trains plying from it. Trains of two important divisions of Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railways ply from here as also trains of other divisions of the Indian Railways. Today around 196 pairs of trains of the Eastern Railway and 103 pairs of the South-Eastern Railway depart and arrive at the Howrah station, other than the huge number of local or suburban trains that ply from here of both the divisions and used by more than a million people every day.

Starting with just 6 platforms in the beginning, today it has almost 30 stations and still expanding. The first Rajdhani Express plied from this station, to New Delhi in 1969. Four of India's most important trunk rail routes end in Howrah viz. Howrah-Delhi, Howrah-Mumbai, Howrah-Chennai and Howrah-Guwahati.

One of the station's most familiar fixtures is the wooden watch or the boro ghari. The analog watch needs no winding, and counts every second of this marvelous station. This huge clock is strategically placed on top of the tower in the north-eastern corner with the face towards the east, so that people crossing the Hooghly River from Calcutta can see it from a distance.

There are hundreds of stalls in the station from books, fruits, beverages and other food items. The notable books stall being the Wheelers book stall standing here for ages. The station remains closed only for a few hours in the midnight when the station is cleaned and made ready for another busy day ahead.

While writing about a station another inseparable part of the station is the coolies or the potters who carry items and loads of ordinary passengers for a petty fee. The red uniformed helpers, mainly biharis has made the station their second home.

The architecture of the building and its ultra modern outlook gives a very nostalgic feeling of this important railway station.

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