Delhi Junction Railway station

Coordinates: 28°39′42″N 77°13′40″E / 28.6617936°N 77.2278464°E / 28.6617936; 77.2278464

Delhi Junction Indian Railway Station
Location
District	Central Delhi
State	Delhi
Elevation	MSL + 784 ft
Station Info & Facilities
Operation
Code	DLI
Division(s)	New Delhi
Zone(s)	Northern Railways
Platform(s)	18
History
Opened	1903
Electrified	1967
Closed	NA

Delhi Junction, also known as Old Delhi Railway Station (Hindi: पुरानी दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन, Urdu: پُرانی دلّی ریلوے سٹیشن), station code DLI, is the oldest railway station of Delhi city, and a Junction station. It was built by the British in the style of red-coloured fort, in 1903. This has been an important railway station of the country, and complements the New Delhi Railway Station. It is served by the Chandni Chowk underground station of the Delhi Metro.

History

Extent of Indian Railway network in 1909

It was built in 1900 AD and was open for public in 1903. Started with just 2 platforms and 1000 passengers,today Delhi Railway Station handles more than 1.8 lacs passengers and 200 trains daily. In 1904, when the Agra-Delhi line was opened, Delhi was a part of six railway systems, The East Indian Railway, North-Western Railway, and Oudh and Rohilkhand Railways entered from Ghaziabad junction, crossing the Yamuna river by an iron bridge. The Delhi-Ambala-Kalka Railway ran northwards from the city, and the Rajputana-Malwa Railway traversed the Delhi district for a short distance in the direction of Gurgaon. ^[1]

Delhi Railway Station has been built by red stones to give the effect of historic Red Fort and Jama Masjid nearby. Station has six clock towers and no. 4 tower is still in use as water tank. Until the opening of New Delhi Railway Station in in 1926, ahead of the inauguration of the New Delhi city in 1931, this served as the main station for the city of Delhi, and hosting four junction railways. Also Agra-Delhi railways line cut through what is today called Lutyens' Delhi and the site earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (India Gate), Kingsway (Rajpath). Eventually East Indian Railway Company, which overlooked railways in the region, shifted the line along the Yamuna river and opened in 1924. Thereafter it was remodelled in 1934-35, when its platforms were extended, and power signals were introduced. ^[2][3]

It is here on this railway station complex that Nathuram Godse and one of his accomplice stayed in retiring room no 6 the night before he assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948.^[4]

Junction

This station has railway lines from three directions:

• From Uttar Pradesh, East i.e. Ghaziabad and Delhi-Howrah main line via Kanpur, Allahabad etc.
• From Haryana, North, i.e. Ambala, Karnal,Sonepat, Panipat, Chandigarh, Amritsar & Jammu, etc.
• From West i.e. , Kishanganj, Shakurbasti, Rohtak, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer. Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur etc.
• In addition, the Samjhauta Express departs from this station to Lahore, and is the only international train service from Delhi.

See also

Railways in India portal

• New Delhi Railway Station
• Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station
• Anand Vihar Railway Terminal
• Delhi Metro

References

1. ^ "Delhi District: Trade and communications". The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 11. Oxford at Clarendon Press. 1909. p. 229. http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V11_235.gif. 
2. ^ "A fine balance of luxury and care". Hindustan Times. July 21, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chunk-ht-ui-newdelhi100years-topstories/A-fine-balance-of-luxury-and-care/Article1-723880.aspx. 
3. ^ "When Railways nearly derailed New Delhi". Hindustan Times. January 18, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/When-Railways-nearly-derailed-New-Delhi/Article1-652023.aspx. 
4. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi

External links

• Indian Railways website
• Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation
• Train Departures from Old Delhi