Asansol Junction railway station

Asansol Junction (station code: ASN) is a railway station of Eastern Railway in Asansol of Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The station is on the Howrah–Delhi main line. It is the 8th busiest railway station in India in terms of frequency of trains after Kanpur Central, Vijayawada Junction, Delhi Junction, New Delhi, Ambala Cant, Howrah and Patna Junction. Around 171 trains pass through the station daily. It serves Asansol and the surrounding areas.

ASANSOL JUNCTION আসানসোল জংশন
Indian Railways junction station
Entrance view of Asansol Junction railway station
General information
Location	Station Road, Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal India
Coordinates	23°41′29″N 86°58′29″E
Elevation	96 metres (315 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Eastern Railways
Line(s)	Bardhaman–Asansol section and Asansol–Patna section of Howrah–Delhi main line, Asansol–Gaya section of Grand Chord and Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line, Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line
Platforms	7
Tracks	11
Connections	Auto stand, bus stand, cab zone
Construction
Structure type	Standard (on-ground station)
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible
Other information
Status	Active
Station code	ASN
Zone(s)	Eastern Railway zone
Division(s)	Asansol
Classification	NSG-2
History
Opened	1864 (1864)
Electrified	1957–1962
Previous names	East Indian Railway
Route map Railways in Asansol   via Grand Chord to Mughalsarai via Howrah–Delhi main line Radhanagar Sitarampur Chinakuri & Seetalpur colliery sidings to Andal via Barabani line planned wye connection Sodepur colliery siding Barachak IISCO Damodar Yard Asansol–Kharagpur line SAIL IISCO Steel Plant Hirapur Exchange Yard Damodar IISCO Burnpur sidings Burnpur Burnpur Airport Mohsila Asansol Freight bypass to Damodar station Kalipahari Asansol Airfield Bardhaman– Asansol section Sources:
Location Asansol Junction Location within West Bengal Interactive map

Bardhaman–Asansol section
km Asansol-Patna section Asansol-Gaya section 120 Sitarampur Andal–Sitarampur loop line 123 Radhanagar Colliery siding planned wye connection Asansol–Adra line IISCO Damodar Yard 115 Damodar Sodepur colliery siding 116 Barachak IISCO Hirapur Exchange Yard IISCO Burnpur sidings 111 Burnpur 107 Asansol Court Asansol Electric Loco Shed 106 Asansol Junction Asansol Passenger Yard Burnpur Airport Grand Trunk Road 106 Mohishila Kalipahari-Damodar freight bypass line 101 Kalipahari 96 Nuniah Block Hut Nunia River 92 Nimcha Block Hut Nimcha Colliery Siding Kalidaspur Colliery 88 Raniganj Damodar River Mejia Thermal Power Station Raniganj Ghat 83 Baktarnagar Block Hut Andal–Sitarampur loop line Andal–Sainthia branch line 80 Andal Andal Marshalling Yard DSTPS Andal Siding Durgapur Cement Works (Birla) 74 Pinjrapol Block Hut Durgapur Steel Exchange Yard 72 Waria DSP Siding Alloy Steels Plant Siding DTPS Waria Siding Durgapur Projects Limited Durgapur Coke Oven Plant 64 Durgapur Durgapur Goods Shed 56 Rajbandh IOCL Rajbandh depot 48 Panagarh Panagarh Army Cantonment NH 19 (Grand Trunk Road) HPCL LPG Bottling Plant 38 Mankar 29 Paraj 23 Galsi 20 Ishan Chandi Halt Sahibganj loop 13 Khana to Bankura–Masagram line (under construction) 8 Talit Bardhaman–Katwa line 0 Barddhaman Junction 7 Gangpur 12 Saktigarh Howrah–Bardhaman chord Howrah–Bardhaman main line km
Sources:

Adra–Asansol line
km   Bardhaman–Asansol section 0 Asansol 5 Burnpur to Barachak IISCO Burnpur sidings Kalipahari freight bypass 9 Damodar Radhanagar colliery siding to Sitarampur (planned) IISCO Damodar yard Damodar River ACC cement factory siding 14 Madhukunda 21 Muradi Parbelia colliery siding Chaurashi Goods siding 26 Ramkanali 31 Bero RTPP sidings 37 Joychandi Pahar Adra–Gomoh line Asansol–Tatanagar line 41 Adra Adra–Kharagpur line km Source: Indian Railway Time Table

Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line incl. Adra–Bokaro Steel City, Purulia–Kotshila & Tatanagar–Badampahar branch lines
km km to Hatia Bokaro Steel City 78 Steel Authority of India Bokaro Steel Plant to Gomoh Ispat Nagar 62 Bardhaman–Asansol section Chas 54 0 Asansol Junction Bandidih 49 to Asansol–Patna section/ Asansol–Gaya section to Chandrapura │ to Gomoh 5 Burnpur Mahuda Junction 53 IISCO Burnpur sidings to Sudamdih Adra–Asansol line Damodar River to Kalipahari (freight line) 9 Damodar Talgaria 42 IISCO Damodar Steel yard & Radhanagar Colliery sidings Shewbabudih 36 Damodar River to Mahuda ACC Cement factory Siding Sudamdih 32 14 Madhukunda Damodar River 21 Muradi Bhojudih 30 Parbeliya Colliery Sidings Jharkhand West Bengal border over Damodar Chaurashi Goods Siding Bhojudih Coal Washery 26 Ramkanali 31 Bero STPS Siding Santaldih 23 RTPP sidings Damodar River Rukni 15 37 Joychandi Pahar Sanka 7 Gardhrubeswar 48 0│41 Adra Junction to Muri Kharagpur–Bankura –Adra line Kotshila Junction 36 to Gomoh 55 Anara Barbenda 32 61 Bagalia Garh Jaipur 29 69 Kustaur Chas Road 22 73 Charrah Gourinathdham 15 to Chhatna (planned) 0│81 Purulia Kangsabati River 88 Tamna 96 Kantadih 104 Urma 112 Barabhum 117 Biramdih West Bengal Jharkhand border 126 Nimdih Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line 135 Chandil 141 Manikui Bihar Sponge Iron Sidings Subarnarekha River 146 Kunki to Namkom (planned) Amalgam Power & Steel Sidings 149 Kandra Tatanagar–Bilaspur section Birbans 170 154 Birrajpur Tata Sponge Iron Siding 160 Gamharia Junction 166 Adityapur Kharkai River Tatanagar Junction 0│171 TISCO Steel Plant Haludpukur 22 Sidhirsai 34 3 Salgajhari Jharkhand Odisha border Jojobera Power Plant Bahalda Road 42 7 Govindpur Aonlajori Junction 55 14 Asanboni Gorumahisani 64 19 Rakha Mines Rairangpur 65 Subarnarekha River Kuldiha 73 26 Galudih Chhanua 80 36 Ghatsila Badampahar 89 42 Chirugoda 48 Dalbhumgarh 57 Kokpara 66 Chakulia Chakulia-Buramara new line (planned) Purnapani 72 Kanimahuli Borol Jharkhand West Bengal border Baharagora 80 Gidhni Jharkhand Odisha border 88 Khatkura Subarnarekha river 95 Jhargram Jamsola to Bhadutala (planned) Jharpokaria 104 Banstala Rupsa–Bangriposi line 111 Sardiha Buramara 119 Khemasuli 125 Kalaikunda Rupsa–Bangriposi line Kharagpur–Bankura –Adra line Nimpura 127 Nimpura Through Yard Nimpura Goods Yard 131 Girimaidan Hijli 133 Kharagpur–Puri line 134 Kharagpur Junction Howrah–Kharagpur line

View of Asansol railway junction

Entrance gate of Asansol Railway Junction

Overview

Mining-industry zone

"The entire belt between Durgapur (158 km from Howrah), and all the way up to Dhanbad and beyond is industrialized. Apart from factories, there are many coalmines, some closed now, and some with fires burning deep in the mineshafts. Mining area extends for a large area, mostly to the south of the tracks. Quite a portion of the track passes through cuttings, where the surrounding area is higher than the track level, resulting in the profusion of characteristic small masonry bridges crossing the tracks." This description is from "Gomoh loco shed and CLW trip record" by Samit Roychoudhury.

History

During the middle of the nineteenth century, Carr, Tagore and Company transported coal from Narayankuri ghat on the Damodar River to Kolkata, then known as Calcutta. However, as the flow of water in the river was inconsistent, supplies were irregular. In order to capture the lucrative coal transport business, East Indian Railway, extended the railway track that had been laid between Kolkata and Hooghly to Raniganj in 1855 and up to Asansol in July 1863.

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The East Indian Railway needed land to develop the infrastructure for the railways. While the Searsol Raj, then the zamindar in the Raniganj area, refused to provide the land, the Panchakot Raj, then functioning from Kashipur, agreed to provide the land in Shergarh, of which Asansol was then a part in 1863–64, East Indian Railway purchased a large area of jungle land from the Panchakot Raj, thereby initiating the development of Asansol as an industrial area.

Subsequently, Asansol gained further in importance. What was later known as the Sahibganj loop was the first line from Kolkata to Delhi and the first direct train started in 1866, but the shorter line via Asansol and Jhajha came up in 1871. It was initially called the Chord line but as it attracted more traffic, was rechristened the main line and the earlier main line became Sahibganj loop. With the completion of the Sitarampur–Gaya–Mughalsarai Grand Chord in 1901 (formally inaugurated in 1906 and finally opened in 1907), the Kolkata–Delhi rail distance became even shorter, and Asansol started functioning as the junction station of the main and chord lines, as Sitarampur, the actual junction, near Asansol, is a comparatively smaller station.

While momentous developments were taking place in connecting Delhi and Kolkata by rail, Bengal Nagpur Railway extended its tracks to the Asansol coal belt in 1887, thus connecting Adra with Asansol.

The railway establishment at Asansol contributed substantially to its development and growth.

Electrification

Electrification of the railways gained momentum in the early fifties. Although initial installations were with 3 kV DC traction, the railways subsequently adopted the 25 kV AC system. Electrification of the Bardhaman–Mughalsarai section was completed in 1957 and the Howrah–Gaya stretch was electrified by around 1960. The Tatanagar–Adra–Asansol section was electrified in the 1957–1962 period.

Locomotive shed

Asansol Electric Loco Shed is home to the oldest electric locomotive shed of Indian Railways. It houses WAP-4, WAG-5, WAM-4 and WAG-7.

Asansol Division

Established in 1925, Asansol Division is one of the oldest divisions of Indian Railways. On the Howrah–Delhi main line, its jurisdiction extends from the distant signal of Khana junction to the distant signal of Jhajha . On the Grand Chord line its jurisdiction extends up to the distant signal of Pradhankhunta. Branch lines under its jurisdiction are: Andal–Sainthia, Andal–Tapasi–Barabani–Sitarampur, Madhupur–Giridih, Jasidih–Baidyanathdham and Jasidih–Dumka. With a total of 565 route kilometers, the division has quadruple lines (two up and two down line) from Khana to Sitarampur. It handles 100 mail/express trains daily and 212 passenger train runs per day. The number of originating passengers per day is 144,070.

Passenger movement

Asansol is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway. 228 trains (including weeklies and bi-weeklies) originate or pass through Asansol railway station. All trains including Sealdah Rajdhani, Howrah Rajdhani, Howrah Duronto, Sealdah Humsafar Express and Shalimar Duronto stops at Asansol Junction except 12259/60 Sealdah - Bikaner Duronto Express and 12305/06 Howrah - New Delhi Rajdhani Express. Halt of 12301/02 Howrah - New Delhi Rajdhani Express was provided at Asansol Jn on request of politician Babul Supriyo in May 2018.

Amenities

Asansol railway station has three double-bedded AC retiring rooms, two double-bedded non-AC retiring rooms and an eight-bedded dormitory. Escalators are present at platforms no. 2 and 7. WiFi service is available here. A food plaza in the station premises is open 24/7. It also has an air-conditioned premium lounge for upscale passengers.

Gallery

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  Asansol railway station building
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  Asansol railway station, Bardhaman
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  Station platform
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  Asansol Junction railway station platform
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  Station platform board
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  a model railway station in Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal
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  Asansol railway station nameplate
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  Asansol railway station, over-bridge view

External links

• Trains at Asansol

Asansol travel guide from Wikivoyage

Preceding station	Indian Railways			Following station
Kalipahari towards Howrah Junction		Eastern Railway zone Howrah–Delhi main line		Barachak towards New Delhi
Terminus		South Eastern Railway zone Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line		Burnpur towards Kharagpur Junction