Howrah Station travel guide

The New Complex of Howrah Station, built to accommodate more platforms. (Photo: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Howrah Station (Bengali: হাওড়া স্টেশন Hāōṛā Sṭeshon, IR code: HWH), also known as Howrah Junction, is a major railway station of Kolkata in India. It not only connects the city to the rest of the country, but also acts as a major hub to connect different destinations of West Bengal and beyond.

Understand

Howrah (HOW-rrah) is India's largest railway complex with 23 platforms. It is also India's busiest station with over 600 trains arriving per day, and about 550 million people using it every year. The station is at Howrah, Kolkata's "twin city", next to the iconic Howrah Bridge. The area around Howrah Station and Howrah Bridge is considered a world of its own, catering to the needs of a huge floating population of over a million.

History

Howrah Station is the first railway station of Eastern India, being established in 1854, with its first railway service to Hooghly beginning on 15 August of the same year. At the time, Howrah Station was just a single line and platform, with a ticket window and a supporting building.

The Howrah-Hooghly line was extended to Pandua two weeks later, then to Raniganj in February 1855. Over 1,09,000 passengers used the service in the first four months.

The increase of residents in the Greater Calcutta area and the booming economy lead to an increasing demand for rail travel. The rail network growing continuously, with the Bengal-Nagpur Railway (BNR) being extended to Howrah in 1900. So, a new station building was proposed in 1901, which now becomes the Old Complex. The building was designed by British architect Halsey Ricardo, and was opened to the public on 1 December 1905.

The inaugural Rajdhani Express departed Howrah for New Delhi on 3 March 1969.

The station's number of platforms was 15 in the 1980s. The New Complex was completed in 1992, thus increasing the number to 18. This was extended by a further four platforms in 2009, and an additional platform in 2026.

The metro station was planned as early as 1971, and was opened to the public on 6 March 2024.

Visitor information

• Howrah Division, Eastern Railway

Services

The Old Complex of Howrah Station. (Photo: Azanti, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Howrah Station is served by two broad-gauge rail networks: the Eastern Railway (ER) and the South Eastern Railway (SER). The station is additionally served by the standard-gauge Kolkata Metro, which connects it to other parts of Kolkata.

The Howrah-bound trains terminate at one of the two following terminals, with platform numbers in brackets:

• Old Complex (1–15) (Terminal 1). The original British-built terminal. The Old Cab Road separates the platforms 1–8 from platforms 9–15. PF 1–8 are generally reserved for the ER local trains from Bandel, Bardhaman and Katwa, and a few express trains. PF 9–12 are reserved for most ER express trains, and PF 13–15 are for the SER local trains from Amta, Kharagpur, Mecheda, Midnapore and Panskura.
• New Complex (17–24) (Terminal 2). The newly-built terminal far south. The New Cab Road separates the platforms 17–21 from the platforms 22–24. These platforms are generally reserved for the SER express trains.

Metro

• Howrah Metro  2  (code: HWHM). It is served by the Green Line only, which connects Howrah to Esplanade and Salt Lake. The line has attracted tourists due to the underwater tunnel segment under Hooghly River, which is indicated by dense blue LED lights in the tunnel.

Local transportation

New Cab Road between platforms 21 and 22. (Photo: Ravi Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Prepaid taxi stand with the Howrah Bridge at backdrop. (Photo: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By bus

Howrah Station is mainly served by city buses, including minibuses.

• Howrah Bus Terminus. The main terminal with buses from Kolkata and its suburbs.
• Howrah Bus Stop. For buses that don't terminate at Howrah Station.

By car

Howrah Station's road infrastructure is unique among India's major stations. The station is on the four-lane Rishi Bankim Chandra Road (RBC Road) with right-hand traffic. It has one lane towards the Howrah Bridge and three lanes at the opposite direction, two of which are used as taxi lanes. There are two large parking lots opposite New Complex.

In addition, there are two one-way "cab roads" for motor vehicles along the length of platforms, namely the Old Cab Road between platforms 8 and 9, and the New Cab Road between platforms 21 and 22. They allow passengers to be dropped near rail compartments, with the Bankim Setu at the ends of the platforms allowing motor vehicles to exit the station quickly.

By taxi

Howrah's iconic prepaid taxi stand with yellow taxis is on the two lanes of RBC Road. There used to be queues at taxi counters before they were effectively shut down in favour of the Yatri Sathi app, developed by West Bengal's IT department. The app is available on both Android and iOS.

By ferry

• Howrah Ferry Ghat is opposite the station. You have to either cross the four-lane RBC Road, or use one of the subways connecting the ferry ghat to the station. It takes ₹5 to cross the river from/to Howrah.

Get around

A BOV at Howrah Station. (Photo: Julyroy, CC BY-SA 4.0)

On foot

Howrah does not have any footbridge or subway connecting the platforms. So the only way to switch platforms within a terminal is to walk to the tail end of one platform, and then turn left for right for the destination platform. The platforms are arranged from left to right. Beware of cab roads.

The two terminals are connected by an uncovered way. From the Old Complex, walk to one of the various exit gates next to platform 12 with signs like "Way to Platform No. 17 to 24". There's a small metro entrance at the right, just outside the exit. To get to the New Complex, at first turn right to the main entrance of Howrah Metro, then turn left. After that, turn left for the "Sainik Aramgah" (military restroom), and then turn right to enter the New Complex.

By BOV

You can take a battery-operated vehicle (BOV) within Howrah Station to avoid walking long distances. It is particularly useful for people with disabilities.

Wait

The waiting area inside the Old Complex (Photo: Rudrashis35, CC BY-SA 3.0)

There are large, covered waiting areas inside both complexes for passengers awaiting connecting trains.

Lounges

Executive Lounge, Old Complex, 1F. Accessible from stairs as well as lifts.

• Maa Tara A/C Waiting Hall, 1F, New Complex, ☏ +91 75620 04030. The lounge contains deluxe sofas, bathing facility with hot and cold water options, and complete food & refreshment facility. Has separate waiting hall for women. Wheelchair available at the sahyog (সহযোগ sohojōg) desk near the stairs. You can also use the lift nearby to get into the AC lounge.
• Executive Lounge, New Complex (at the warehouse-like building housing platforms 22-24), ☏ +91 98310 84442.

Attractions

There are a few attractions within and around the station compound.

• Big Clock (বড় ঘড়ি Boṛo Ghoṛi).
• Gandhi Memorial Plaque. A bilingual plaque, with one side is in Bengali and other side is in Hindi. It talks about Mahatma Gandhi's meeting with stalwarts like Surendranath Banerjea and Motilal Ghosh while living in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in 1896. Then it mentions that Gandhi joined Congress in its 1901 Calcutta session, and the Congress accepted Gandhi's resolution against the discrimination of South African Indians. It also mentions the historical meeting between Gandhi and Tagore at Santiniketan in March 1915 and the presence of Gandhi Memorial Museum in his memory at Barrackpore.
• Steam locomotive AK6. A steam locomotive built by W. G. Bagnall for narrow-gauge McLeod's Light Railways in 1914, now on public display.

There's also a rail museum at the extreme south of the station compound. See the Howrah article for additional information.

Eat and drink

Alcohols are not permitted to sell here due to the Indian Railways' broader anti-alcohol policy.

Old Complex

• Food Plaza (ফুডপ্লাজা Phuḍ Plājā) (near PF 12). A food court run by Indian Railway Catering and Ticketing Corporation (IRCTC).
• Jan Ahaar (জন আহার Jon Āhār) (near PF 12). 5AM-1PM. Both non-veg and veg available. Veg foods are cooked and served separately.

New Complex

• Comesum, Food Track. 10AM–10PM. ₹200–400.
• Food Court (at the warehouse-like building housing platforms 22-23).
• M/s Shiv & Sons, GF. 24 hours daily. Both non-veg and veg available.
• Railway Canteen.
• Sendha (সেনধা Sendhā), ☏ +91 70422 70033. 24 hours daily. ₹200–400.

Buy

One Station One Product (Photo: This photograph is created by Sbb1413 . All photographs created by him are relea, CC BY 4.0)

Several small stalls can be found around the station selling books. Automatic teller machines (ATMs) of various banks are available.

• One Station One Product, PF 21, New Complex. Local handicrafts.

Connect

Like most railway stations, Howrah has a free Wi-Fi service named RailWire. There are also some private telecom operators providing free Wi-Fi at the station, including JioNet.

Cope

• EV Charging Station, New Complex.

Cloakrooms

• Cloak Room, New Complex.

Toilet

• Pay & Use Toilet Complex, Old Complex (near PF 12, towards the side exit of the Old Complex). Separate toilet rooms for men and women at both sides of the complex.
• Toilet, New Complex (at PF 22). Separate toilet rooms for men and women.

Sleep

Other than the railway hotel listed below, there are hotels nearby in Howrah and Esplanade.

• Sampath Rail Yatri Niwas (at New Complex), ☏ +91 33 2660 1742. Contains a dormitory, single-room, and double-room accommodations. Dorm ₹100/bed, Double Non-AC ₹350, Double AC ₹550, Triple Non-AC ₹400.

Stay safe

There's a common scam while booking tickets from Howrah at the ticket counter of the New Complex. Here, you'll encounter two stations, "Howrah" (HWH) and "Howrah South NC" (HWHS), even though New Complex (NC) is not a separate station. If you take a Howrah-bound train and alight at the New Complex, beware of the scammers in the name of train ticket examiners (TTEs). They will ask you to give "fine" for alighting at "Howrah South NC" (HWHS) instead of "Howrah" (HWH). You should ignore such demands and politely reply that there's no station named "Howrah South NC", and both Old and New Complexes bear the same station code "HWH".

Nearby

Howrah and Kolkata are obvious places to visit for travellers trapped here. With a rich colonial history and a unique cosmopolitan culture, it is hard to be bored in Kolkata.

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