New Delhi
Indian Railway Station
Central Station
Entrance to the New Delhi Railway Station complex
General information
LocationNew Delhi, Delhi
 India
Coordinates28°38′30″N 77°13′15″E / 28.6417°N 77.2207°E / 28.6417; 77.2207
Elevation214.42 metres (703.5 ft)
Line(s)5
Platforms16
Tracks18
Construction
Structure typeStandard (on ground station)
ParkingAvailable (Paid)
Other information
StatusFunctioning
Station codeNDLS
Zone(s) Northern Railway
Division(s) Delhi
History
Opened1926
Previous namesEast Indian Railway Company
Passengers
Daily500,000+
Location
New Delhi is located in Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi
Location within Delhi

The New Delhi Railway Station (station code NDLS), situated between Ajmeri Gate and Paharganj is the main railway station in Delhi. It is the one of the busiest Railway Station in the country in terms of frequency of trains and busiest in terms of passenger movement. Around 400 trains starts, ends, or passes through the station daily and handles 500,000 passengers daily with 16 platforms.[1] The New Delhi railway station holds the record for the largest route interlocking system in the world along with the Kanpur Central Railway Station i.e. 48. The station is about two kilometres north of Connaught Place, in central Delhi.

Most eastbound and southbound trains originate at New Delhi Railway Station; however, some important trains to other parts of the country also touch/originate at this station. Most pairs of Shatabdi Express originate and terminate at this station. It is also the main hub for the Rajdhani Express, hence making it the biggest and busiest railway station of Indian Railways.

A total of 427 passenger trains originate, terminate, or pass through the station .867 stations across India are directly connected to New Delhi Railway Station.[2]

History

New Delhi Railway Station Entrance from 16th Platform

Before the new imperial capital New Delhi was established after 1911, the Old Delhi Railway Station served the entire city and the Agra-Delhi railway line cut through what is today called Lutyens' Delhi and the site earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (now India Gate) and Kingsway (now Rajpath). The railway line was shifted along Yamuna river and opened in 1924 to make way for the new capital. Minto (now Shivaji) and Hardinge (now Tilak) rail bridges came up for this realigned line. The East Indian Railway Company, that overlooked railways in the region, sanctioned the construction of a single story building and a single platform between Ajmeri Gate and Paharganj in 1926. This was later known as New Delhi Railway station. The government's plans to have the new station built inside the Central Park of Connaught Place was rejected by the Railways as it found the idea impractical.[3] In 1927–28, New Delhi Capital Works project involving construction of 4.79 miles (7.71 km) of new lines was completed. The Viceroy and royal retinue entered the city through the new railway station during the inauguration of New Delhi in 1931. New structures were added to the railway station later and the original building served as the parcel office for many years.[4][5]

Modernization

New arrival area

In 2007, Farrells were commissioned to modernise and expand the station in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Farrells are the lead consultant for the Masterplan for Indian Railways for the redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station to be in line with the pace of modernisation and growth in the city centre. To provide station and property development over and around the station. The first phase was planned to be operational by the time of the games.[6] The redevelopment was expected to cost ₹60 billion (US$718.9 million) and 13 consortiums have placed bids to win the contract to upgrade and modernise the terminal[7] on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for 30 years.[8]

New-Delhi Railway station

The station occupies 86 ha[9] and 10–20% of it (50 acres) could be used for retail and commercial use.[8] In September 2009, the new building of the station on the Ajmeri Gate side was opened by Northern Railway; built at Rs250,000,000 by Gangotri Enterprises Limited and the building has a total floor area of 9,000 m2 spread over three floors.[10] Vivaan Solar, a Gwalior based company has won the contract to install 1.1 MW of rooftop solar project at the railway station in 2016. The solar power project is to be set up under Public Private Partnership and will be executed on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The company will also be responsible for maintaining the plant for a period of 25 years.[11]

Vivaan solar has successfully installed and commissioned 1.1 MW on New Delhi railway station in the month of November 2017.

WiFi

Northern Railways concluded a tender in May 2013, won by a Mumbai-based company, to enable free Wi-Fi connectivity at the station, at an approximate cost of ₹8 million (US$96,000). Service became available later in the year.[12][13]

Delhi Metro

New Delhi Railway Station is served by New Delhi station on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro, and also by the Delhi Airport Metro Express (Orange Line), which connects it directly to Indira Gandhi International Airport and further to the Blue Line.[14]

Services

Some of the most important trains among 100 that depart from New Delhi are:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Free Wi-Fi at New Delhi railway station soon". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Stations directly connected to New Delhi Railway Station". IndianRailways.info. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  3. ^ "CP's blueprint: Bath's Crescent". Hindustan Times. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. ((cite news)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "A fine balance of luxury and care". Hindustan Times. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. ((cite news)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "When Railways nearly derailed New Delhi". Hindustan Times. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. ((cite news)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Terry Farrell & Partners to design Delhi Rly station Business Line, 4 July 2007.
  7. ^ Rly in jam over cross holding of shares by New Delhi bidders Outlook (magazine), 22 September 2008.
  8. ^ a b "business.outlookindia.com | Action station". business.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2014. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "New Delhi station to be equipped with hi-tech lighting system". The Times of India. 13 July 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  10. ^ New Delhi gets new railway station building The Hindu, 16 September 2009.
  11. ^ "NORTHERN RAILWAYS TO INSTALL 5 MW ROOFTOP SOLAR IN FOUR OF ITS STATIONS".
  12. ^ "New Delhi Railway Station To Offer Free WiFi Service; Yet Another Pilot? - MediaNama". medianama.com. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  13. ^ "Free Wi-Fi connectivity at Delhi railway station soon | Business Line". thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  14. ^ "2 new metro stations on IGI link from today". The Times of India. 15 August 2011.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for New Delhi.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Delhi Railway Station.
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