Railways stations are an all time crowded affair. One can see a lot of people departing or getting off the train at every station. During the festive times, the rush and the crowd shows a drastic growth. But certain stations in India are stated as the most crowded ones and this also related to the number of unique trains crossing them. The widers the connectivity options from any station, the more human traffick is bound to occur.
As per Indian Railways statistics, here are the 10 busiest stations in India:
10) Lucknow (LKO): Popularly known as “Char Bagh”. The present Station building was constructed in 1926 with domes and minars of Mughal architectural design, intended to harmonise with the architecture peculiar to the important historical buildings to the city which date to the days of the Nawabs of Oudh. The building constructed in red brick has a frontage It is situated at Charbagh in the south of the city, hence the popular name. The words ‘Char Bagh’ refer to the four gardens which existed here earlier. Nearly 300 trains pass across this station.
9) Vadodara (BRC): Vadodara Junction railway station is the main station in the Indian city of Vadodara, Gujarat. It is the ninth busiest railway station in India in terms of frequency of trains after Kanpur Central, Vijayawada Junction, Delhi Junction, New Delhi, Ambala Cant, Howrah, Patna Junction and Asansol Junction and busiest in Gujarat state and as well as a major stop on the western railway zone of Indian railways. Around 170 trains starts, ends, or passes through the station daily.
8) Itarsi (ET): Itarsi Junction (station code: ET) is a railway station in Hoshangabad District in Madhya Pradesh[1] from which more than 330 trains passes everyday. It falls under the West Central Railway zone of Indian Railways network.Trains from Central Railway undergo engine changes here i.e. electric engines of WAP/WAM/WAG class are changed to diesel engines of WDP/WDM/WDG class and vice versa. These changes happen for trains which pass through Jabalpur-Katni-Satna railway line and sometimes for trains which pass through Bhopal.
7) Allahabad (ALD): Allahabad Junction is a railway station on the Howrah-Delhi main line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line. It is the headquarters of the North Central Railway Zone.Allahabad is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.
6) Vijayawad (BZA): Vijayawada railway station (station code:BZA)[1] is an Indian railway station in Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh. It is classified as one of the A-1 and Model station in the Vijayawada railway division of South Central Railway zone.The station everyday serves about 1.40 lakh passengers, over 180 express and 150 freight trains.
5) Patna (PNBE): The Patna Junction railway station is connected to most of the major cities in India by the railway network.Patna lies in between New Delhi and Kolkata which is one of the busiest rail routes in India. Patna has trains running frequently to Delhi and Kolkata.The city is a major railway hub and has six major stations: Patna Junction, Rajendranagar Terminal, Gulzarbagh Station, Danapur railway station, Patliputra Junction and Patna Sahib Station. Patna is well connected with Gaya, Jehanabad Biharsharif, Rajgir, Islampur through daily passenger and express train services.
4) Kalyan (KYN): One of the major railway station in Maharashtra. There are 8 platforms at Kalyan Jn. serving sub-urban and long distance trains.
3) Kanpur Central (CNB): One of the busiest railway stations in India in terms of frequency of trains. Around 230 trains pass through the station on regular basis.
2) New Delhi (NDLS): This is second busiest station and largest railway station in India. It handles over 350 trains and 5 Lakh passengers on daily basis. It comprises of 16 platforms.
1) Howrah (HWH): The most busiest stations in India in terms of train frequency. 210 unique trains cross per day with a frequency of 974 arrivals/departures per day. This station has 23 platforms.
One can order food in train across all these location and around 400+ locations across India via RailRestro- the official e-catering partner of IRCTC.
Here’s a Quick Video representing these stations: