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New Delhi
Indian Railway Station
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Entrance to the New Delhi Railway Station complex |
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| Location | |
| City | New Delhi |
| District | Delhi |
| State | Delhi |
| Elevation | MSL + 216 m (709 ft) |
| Station Info & Facilities | |
| Station type | Central Station |
| Structure | Standard (on ground station) |
| Station status | Functioning |
| Parking | Available |
| Entrance(s) | Paharganj, Ajmeri Gate |
| Operation | |
| Code | NDLS |
| Zone(s) | Northern Railway |
| Track(s) | 17 |
| Platform(s) | 16 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Former Owner(s) | East Indian Railway Company |
| Traffic | |
| Passengers (Daily) | 360,000 ([1]) |
The New Delhi Railway Station (Hindi: नई दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन, Urdu: نئی دلّی ریلوے سٹیشن), station code NDLS, situated between Ajmeri Gate and Paharganj is the main railway station in Delhi. New Delhi railway station is the second busiest and one of the largest in India. It handles over 300 trains each day with 16 platforms and about 360,000 passengers everyday.[1] The New Delhi railway station holds the record for the largest route interlocking system in the world. The station is about two kilometres north of Connaught Place, in central Delhi.
Most eastbound and northbound trains originate at New Delhi Railway Station. However, some important trains to other parts of the country also touch/originate at this station.
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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.[2] 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 royals 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.[3][4]
In 2007, Terry Farrell and Partners 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.[5] The redevelopment was expected to cost 6,000 crore (US$1.1 billion) and 13 consortiums have placed bids to win the contract to upgrade and modernize the terminal [6] on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for 30 years.[7]
The station occupies 86 ha[8] and 10-20% of it (50 acres) could be used for retail and commercial use.[7] 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.[1]
Some of the most important trains among 100 that originate from New Delhi are:
New Delhi Railway Station is served by New Delhi station on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro, and also by the Orange Line of the Delhi Airport Metro Express, which is operational from February 23, 2011 connecting directly to Indira Gandhi International Airport.[9]