Barddhaman Junction railway station

Barddhaman Junction Railway Station (station code: BWN) is a railway junction station on the Howrah–Delhi main line and is located in Purba Bardhaman District in the Indian state of West Bengal. EMU services from Howrah along Howrah–Bardhaman main line and Howrah–Bardhaman chord terminate at Bardhaman. Every day, over 300 express/mail/SF trains halt here, making it one of the busiest and important junction railway station in Eastern India. It serves Bardhaman, the fifth most populous city in West Bengal.

History
Barddhaman Junction is an important station in the Eastern Railway zone. Trains from Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata towards Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Gaya etc. go through the station. The station consists of eight platforms.

The first passenger train ran from Howrah to Bardhaman on 15 August 1855.

The track was extended to Raniganj by 1855.

The Howrah–Bardhaman chord, a shorter link to Bardhaman from Howrah than the Howrah–Bardhaman main line, was constructed in 1917.

Bardhaman–Katwa line was upgraded from NG to BG in 2014 (up to Balgona) and extended up to Katwa in 2018.

Barddhaman RRI
It has Siemens interlocking and it was commissioned in 2014. New route relay interlocking (RRI) has considerably increased train punctuality.

Electrification
Electrification of the Howrah–Bardhaman main line was completed with 25 kV AC overhead system in 1958. Earlier, electrification started (on the Howrah–Bandel sector) with 3 kV DC overhead system in 1953.

The Howrah–Bardhaman chord was electrified in 1964–66. The Bardhaman–Katwa line was electrified in 2014 (up to Balgona) and 2018 (up to Katwa jn).

Amenities
Barddhaman railway station has two-bedded non-AC retiring rooms and four bedded non-AC dormitories. The station platforms are equipped with high speed Wi-Fi access provided by Google and RailWire. All platforms are equipped with escalators (1-8) with a lift facility in platform number 6-7. Automated ticket vending machines are at both sides of the station where tickets can be purchased by cash, card, or UTS mobile system. IRCTC vendors offer various types of food at the station platforms. Purified and cold water is available at platforms.

Bardhaman Coaching & Wagon Depot
Bardhaman Coaching & Wagon Depot can maintain passenger trains EMU and MEMU, including one DEMU rake. It has a capacity of holding 71 coaches.

Barddhaman Loco Shed
The shed was commissioned in September 1983

Incidents
On two different dates, April 6 and 13 of 2003, employees of a private security agency fired at fleeing coal thieves, injuring a passerby and on the later date, a hawker. Following these incidents, a large mob comprising the station's hawkers and residents of the area clashed with police forces ,leading to a baton charge and arrests on April 14, 2003.

On Friday, 9 November 2019, several people were injured in a stampede over a footbridge at the station.

On Saturday, 4 January 2020, a major portion of the main entrance gate of the railway station collapsed, injuring several people. Construction activities were taking place at the site of the accident.

On 13 December 2023, a water tank in Platform 2 and 3 in the station suddenly collapsed during afternoon.