*** Welcome to piglix ***

Barasat Junction railway station

Barasat Junction
বারাসাত জংশন
बारासात जंक्शन
Indian Railway station
Barasat Junction railway station (2).jpg
Barasat Junction platformboard
Location North 24 Parganas West Bengal
India
Elevation 784 ft
Platforms 5
Construction
Parking No
Other information
Status Open
Station code BT (BARASAT)
Zone(s) Eastern Railways
Division(s) Sealdah (Northern Kolkata)
History
Opened 1906
Closed NA
Electrified 1972
Services
Preceding station   Indian Railway   Following station
Eastern Railway zone
Eastern Railway zone

Barasat Junction railway station (Bengali:বারাসত জংশন) is the primary rail hub in the city of Barasat and one of the major suburban city railway stations within the district of Kolkata. Generally, the people commuting daily use this station for travelling to the city centre or other cities, with the busiest times at the station being the morning and evening peak periods. This station provides the facility of separate rest rooms for both male & female passengers. Barasat Junction Railway station consists of 5 permanent platforms (Platform no: 1-5).

Recently, the government-owned Indian Railways corporation approved a proposal for an underground metro railway station connecting Barasat Junction to Dum Dum metro station. The construction of the project has started on October 2011.

An EMU carshed is situated in the vicinity of Barasat Junction Railway Station.

A reservations counter for booking long distance railway tickets is open in the early morning, operating from the main ticket counter at the junction. Two smart card booths are operational for ticket purchasing through the use computerised smart cards.

A railway car shade forms a part of the station's overall structure, having been designed to cover two trains for rail engine and car maintenance.

Barasat Basirhat Railway (BBR) was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railway line started by Martin & Co. in 1914 as part of their wide network of narrow gauge operations under the name of Martin's Light Railways. The line connected the two towns of Barasat and Basirhat near Calcutta (now Kolkata), in West Bengal, India. The line was closed in 1955, after Indian independence (in 1947), when all privately run lines were taken over by the government or were closed. BBR got a fresh lease of life when Indian Railways placed the line under its Eastern Railways zone, Sealdah division and converted the route partly to broad gauge in 1962. Later on, this route was fully restored to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (Indian gauge) and local trains started using the route.

Extension plan from Noapara to Barasat: Up the track from Noapara to Barasat, the proposed extension alignment would be elevated and pass through Ramakrishna Palli, and Santinagar stations where the down track would pass through DumDum Cantt, and Jessore road before meeting with the Up line at Biman Bandar station. From there, both the up and down lines would run parallel along NH 34 until the junction of Nawali Khal with NH 34 and descent gradually over Nawali Khal and descend gradually over Nawali khal before reaching the surface short of Madhyam Gram station. From Madhyam Gram to Barasat the alignment would be on the surface. However, for crossing the existing Road Over Bridge at Madhyam Gram and Barasat, the alignment would descend gradually to ground level and rise again on viaduct. This will beneficial for the people of North 24 Parganas and will bring them closer to Kolkata's Business district. This would reduce the heavy pressure on SealdahBarasat section of Eastern Railway.


...
Wikipedia

...