KarmaConyers at 19:19, 24 April 2026

2026-04-24T19:19:22Z

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{{short description|Railway station in West Bengal, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox station
| name = [[File:Indian_Railways_Suburban_Railway_Logo.svg|50px]]<br />{{font color|blue|ASANSOL JUNCTION}}
| type = [[File:Indian_Railways_Suburban_Railway_Logo.svg|30px]] '''''[[Indian Railways]] station'''''
| style = Indian Railways
| image = IMG asnrlyjn.jpg
| caption = Entrance view of Asansol Junction railway station
| address = Station Road, [[Asansol]], [[Paschim Bardhaman district]], [[West Bengal]]
| country = {{flagu|India}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|23.69131|N|86.974792|E|type:railwaystation_region:IN|format=dms|display=inline}}
| elevation = {{convert|96|m|ft}}
| line = [[Bardhaman–Asansol section]] and [[Asansol–Patna section]] of [[Howrah–Delhi main line]],<br />[[Asansol–Gaya section]] of [[Grand Chord]] and [[Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line]],<br />[[Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line]]
| other = Auto stand, bus stand, cab zone
| structure = [[Intersection_(road)#At_grade_railways|At grade]]
| platform = 7 platforms<br> '''Length–''' '''''{{cvt|620|m}}'''''
| tracks = 11
| parking = {{rint|parking}} {{color|green|Available}}
| accessible = {{Access icon|20px}}
| bicycle = {{rint|bicycle}} {{color|green|Available}}
| opened = {{start date and age|1864}}
| closed =
| rebuilt =
| electrified = 1957–1962
| classification = '''NSG-2'''
| code = {{Indian railway code
| code = '''ASN'''
| zone = [[Eastern Railway zone|Eastern Railway]]
| division = {{rwd|Asansol}}
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search}}
| owned = [[Indian Railways]]
| services = {{Adjacent stations|noclear=y
|system=Indian Railways
|line=Eastern Railway zone|left=Kalipahari|right=Barachak|to-left=Howrah Junction|to-right=New Delhi|type=[[Howrah–Delhi main line]]
|line2=South Eastern Railway zone|left2=|right2=Burnpur|to-right2=Kharagpur Junction|type2=[[Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line]]}}

{{Railway stations in West Bengal}}
{{Paschim Bardhaman topics}}

[[Category:Railway stations in India opened in 1885]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Paschim Bardhaman district]]
[[Category:Railway junction stations in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Asansol railway division]]
[[Category:Transport in Asansol]]
| operator = [[Eastern Railway zone|Eastern Railways]]
| services_collapsible = yes
| route_map = {{Railways in Asansol}}
| status = {{color|green|Active}}
| former = [[East Indian Railway Company|East Indian Railway]]
| passengers =
| pass_year =
| pass_percent =
| pass_system =
| map_type = India#India West Bengal#
| map_dot_label = '''Asansol Junction'''
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in [[Asansol]]##Location in India
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Asansol Junction
| mapframe-custom = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=180|zoom=14|type=point|marker=rail}}
}}
{{Bardhaman–Asansol section|collapse=y}}
{{Adra–Asansol line|collapse=y}}
{{Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line|collapse=yes}}

'''Asansol Junction''' (station code: '''ASN''') is a railway station of [[Eastern Railway (India)|Eastern Railway]] in [[Asansol Sadar subdivision|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 {{stnlnk|Kanpur Central}}, {{stnlnk|Vijayawada Junction}}, {{stnlnk|Delhi Junction}}, {{stnlnk|New Delhi}}, [[Ambala Cantonment Junction railway station|Ambala Cant]], {{stnlnk|Howrah}} and {{stnlnk|Patna Junction}}.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Around 171 trains pass through the station daily.
It serves [[Asansol]] and the surrounding areas.
[[File:IMGasnjn.jpg|thumb|View of Asansol railway junction]]
[[File:IMG_asn_jn01.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irfca.org/members/trips/samit-20041112-clw.html |title= Gomoh loco shed and CLW trip record |work= Indian Railway Reports|publisher=IRFCA }}</ref>

==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 Company|East Indian Railway]], extended the railway track that had been laid between Kolkata and {{stnlnk|Hooghly}} to {{stnlnk|Raniganj}} in 1855 and up to Asansol in July 1863.<ref name=rail1>{{cite web |url =http://www.irfca.org/~mrinal/chronology.html |title =The Chronology of Railway Development in Eastern India. |access-date =12 November 2011 |publisher =railindia |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080316015721/http://www.irfca.org/~mrinal/chronology.html |archive-date =16 March 2008 |url-status =dead }}</ref><ref name=rail2>{{cite web |url = http://www.irfca.org/~mrinal/asansol.html |title = Asansol |access-date = 12 November 2011 |publisher = railindia |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170507171611/http://www.irfca.org/~mrinal/asansol.html |archive-date = 7 May 2017 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=rail3>{{cite web| url = http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm| title = Indian Railway History Timeline| access-date = 12 November 2011| archive-url = https://archive.today/20120714085533/http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm| archive-date = 14 July 2012| url-status = dead}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" widths="500px" heights="250px" caption="A" historic="" outline="" map="" of="" the="" raniganj="" coalfield="" limited="" showing="" proposed="" extension="" railway="" tracks="" from="" to="" asansol="">
File:Raniganj Coalfield 1867.jpg
</gallery>

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 (community development block)|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.<ref name=rail2/><ref name=rail3/>

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 [[Howrah–Delhi main line|main line]] and the earlier main line became Sahibganj loop. With the completion of the {{stnlnk|Sitarampur}}–[[Gaya Junction railway station|Gaya]]–[[Mughalsarai Junction railway station|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.<ref name=rail3/><ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.irfca.org/docs/history/hazaribagh-district.html |title = Hazaribagh District (1918) | publisher= IRFCA | access-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref>

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, Purulia|Adra]] with Asansol.<ref name=rail1/>

The railway establishment at Asansol contributed substantially to its development and growth.<ref name=rail2/>

==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.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-elec.html#hist |title = Electric Traction – I | publisher= IRFCA (Indian Railways Fan Club)|access-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref> The Tatanagar–Adra–Asansol section was electrified in the 1957–1962 period.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2000/ffeb2000/f020220002.html |title = Platinum Jubilee of Railway Electrification in India| publisher= Press Information Bureau|first= Arabinda| last= Ghose| access-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref>

==Locomotive shed==
[[Electric Loco Shed, Asansol|Asansol Electric Loco Shed]] is home to the oldest electric locomotive shed of Indian Railways. It houses [[WAP-4]], [[Indian locomotive class WAG-5|WAG-5]], [[Indian locomotive class WAM-4|WAM-4]] and [[Indian locomotive class WAG-7|WAG-7]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-shed.html |title = Sheds and Workshops | publisher= IRFCA| access-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref>

==Asansol Division==
Established in 1925, [[Asansol railway division|Asansol Division]] is one of the oldest divisions of Indian Railways. On the [[New Delhi–Howrah main line|Howrah–Delhi main line]], its jurisdiction extends from the distant signal of [[Khana railway station|Khana junction]] to the distant signal of Jhajha . On the [[Grand Chord|Grand Chord line]] its jurisdiction extends up to the distant signal of [[Pradhankhunta Junction railway station|Pradhankhunta]]. Branch lines under its jurisdiction are: [[Andal–Sainthia branch line|Andal–Sainthia]], Andal–Tapasi–Barabani–Sitarampur, [[Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line|Madhupur–Giridih]], [[Jasidih–Baidyanathdham branch line|Jasidih–Baidyanathdham]] and [[Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line|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.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.er.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,6,443,528,538 |title = Eastern Railway| work = Asansol Division |publisher= Eastern Railway| access-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref>

==Passenger movement==
Asansol is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianrail.gov.in/7days_Avl.html |title=Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry |work=Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways |publisher=IRFCA |access-date=5 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510115649/http://www.indianrail.gov.in/7days_Avl.html |archive-date=10 May 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> 228 trains (including weeklies and bi-weeklies) originate or pass through Asansol railway station.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.indiantrains.org/station-details/?code=ASN&name=ASANSOL+JN |title= Trains at Asansol Junction |publisher= IRFCA |access-date= 1 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111103150252/http://www.indiantrains.org/station-details/?code=ASN&name=ASANSOL+JN |archive-date= 3 November 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.er.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,6,442,478,490 |title = Retiring Room Details| publisher= Eastern Railway| access-date = 19 April 2013}}</ref> 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==
<gallery widths=180>
Asansol rail station in Asansol 05.jpg|Asansol railway station building
Asansol Railway station, Bardhaman 05.jpg|Asansol railway station, Bardhaman
Asansol railway station platform.JPG|Station platform
Asansol rail station in Asansol 06.jpg|Asansol Junction railway station platform
Asansol railway station platformboard.JPG|Station platform board
Asansol rail station in Asansol 02.jpg|a model railway station in Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal
Asansol railway station nameplate.JPG|Asansol railway station nameplate
Asansol Railway station, Bardhaman 02.jpg|Asansol railway station, over-bridge view
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Asansol Junction railway station}}
* [http://indiarailinfo.com/departures/asansol-junction-asn/7 Trains at Asansol]

{{Wikivoyage inline|Asansol}}

Asansol Junction railway station - Revision history

KarmaConyers at 19:19, 24 April 2026