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Delhi Junction
Indian Railway Station
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| Location | |
| District | Central Delhi |
| State | Delhi |
| Elevation | MSL + 784 ft |
| Station Info & Facilities | |
| Operation | |
| Code | DLI |
| Division(s) | New Delhi |
| Zone(s) | Northern Railways |
| Platform(s) | 18 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Electrified | 1967 |
| Closed | NA |
Delhi Junction, also known as Old Delhi Railway Station (Hindi: पुरानी दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन, Urdu: پُرانی دلّی ریلوے سٹیشن), station code DLI, is the oldest railway station of Delhi city, and a Junction station. It was built by the British in the style of red-coloured fort, in 1903. This has been an important railway station of the country, and complements the New Delhi Railway Station. It is served by the Chandni Chowk underground station of the Delhi Metro.
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It was built in 1900 and was open for public in 1903. Started with just 2 platforms and 1000 passengers,today Delhi Railway Station handles more than 180,000 passengers and 200 trains daily. In 1904, when the Agra-Delhi line was opened, Delhi was a part of six railway systems, The East Indian Railway, North-Western Railway, and Oudh and Rohilkhand Railways entered from Ghaziabad junction, crossing the Yamuna river by an iron bridge. The Delhi-Ambala-Kalka Railway ran northwards from the city, and the Rajputana-Malwa Railway traversed the Delhi district for a short distance in the direction of Gurgaon. [1]
Delhi Railway Station has been built by red stones to give the effect of historic Red Fort and Jama Masjid nearby. Station has six clock towers and tower 4 is still in use as a water tank. Until the opening of New Delhi Railway Station, in 1926, ahead of the inauguration of the New Delhi city in 1931, this served as the main station for the city of Delhi, hosting four junction railways. Also Agra-Delhi railways line cut through what is today called Lutyens' Delhi and the site earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (India Gate), Kingsway (Rajpath). Eventually, the East Indian Railway Company, which overlooked railways in the region, shifted the line along the Yamuna river and opened in 1924. Thereafter it was remodelled in 1934-35, when its platforms were extended, and power signals were introduced. [2][3]
It is here that Nathuram Godse and one of his accomplices stayed in retiring room 6 the night before he assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948.[4]
This station has railway lines from three directions:
