Thefacecentre at 10:51, 13 March 2026

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{{Short description|Railway station in Cooch Behar district, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Haldibari
| type = [[Indian Railways]] station
| style = Indian Railways
| image =
| image_caption =
| address = Haldibari, [[Cooch Behar]], West Bengal, PIN 735122
| country = India
| coordinates = {{Coord|26.3360|88.7828|type:railwaystation_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| elevation = {{convert|76|m|ft}}
| line = [[Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line]] 
| other =
| structure = [[Intersection_(road)#At_grade_railways|At grade]]
| platform = 3
| tracks = 5 With 2 Sidings Line
| parking = Available
| opened = 1878
| closed =
| rebuilt = 2021
| electrified = Yes
| accessible =
| code = {{Indian railway code
| code = HDB
| zone = NFR
| division = {{rwd|Katihar}}
}}
| owned = [[Indian Railways]]
| operator = [[Northeast Frontier Railway Zone]]
| status = Functioning
| former = [[Bengal Assam Railway]]
| passengers =
| pass_year =
| pass_percent =
| pass_system =
| map_type = India West Bengal#India
| map_dot_label =
| map_caption = Location in West Bengal##Location in India
}}
{{New Jalpaiguri–Haldibari line|collapse=y}}
'''Haldibari Railway Station''' serves [[Haldibari, West Bengal|Haldibari]] town in [[Cooch Behar district]] of the Indian state of [[West Bengal]]. It is the Oldest Railway Station In [[North Bengal]] as well as [[North-East India]]. Moreover It is an active railway transit point on the [[Bangladesh–India border]]. This is a terminating and as well as originating station.

'''MAJOR TRAINS :'''

• 55749/50 New Jalpaiguri-Haldibari Passenger.

• 55751/52 Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri Passenger.

• [[Darjeeling Mail|12344/43 Haldibari-Sealdah Superfast Darjeeling Mail.]]

•75722/21 Haldibari-Siliguri Junction DEMU Passenger.

• [[Kolkata–Haldibari Triweekly Intercity Superfast Express|12364/63 Haldibari - Kolkata Triweekly Intercity Superfast Express]].

• [[Balurghat–Haldibari Intercity Express|15463/64 Haldibari - Balurghat Intercity Express.]]

• [[Bamanhat-Haldibari Intercity Express|15467/68 Haldibari - Bamanhat Intercity Express]]

==History==
During the British period all connections from southern parts of Bengal to North Bengal were through the eastern part of Bengal. From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, was in two laps. The first lap was a 185 km journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the [[Padma River]], then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey. A 336 km metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.<ref name="njp">{{cite web|others=Alastair Boobyer|title=India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri|url=http://www.irfca.org/docs/rinbad-siliguri.html|access-date=2013-03-04|publisher=IRFCA}}</ref>

The 1.8 km long [[Hardinge Bridge]] across the Padma came up in 1912. In 1926 the metre-gauge section north of the bridge was converted to broad gauge, and so the entire Calcutta – Siliguri route became broad-gauge.<ref name=njp/> The route thus ran: [[Sealdah]]–[[Ranaghat]]–[[Bheramara Upazila|Bheramara]]–[[Hardinge Bridge]]–[[Iswardi]]–[[Santahar]]–{{stnlnk|Hili}}–[[Parbatipur Junction|Parabtipur]]–[[Nilphamari Sadar Upazila|Nilphamari]]-Haldibari-[[Jalpaiguri]]–[[Siliguri Town railway station|Siliguri]].

With the [[partition of India]], this track got trisected. The through route was formally closed after the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|India–Pakistan War in 1965]].<ref name=priyo>{{cite web |url= http://news.priyo.com/politics/2011/11/27/new-rail-transit-route-thru-in-43288.html |title= New rail transit route thru India gets govt nod |publisher= Priyo Internet Life |access-date= 2013-03-04 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130608063635/http://news.priyo.com/politics/2011/11/27/new-rail-transit-route-thru-in-43288.html |archive-date= 8 June 2013 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

The Siliguri–Haldibari, part of the original broad gauge Calcutta–Siliguri track via Hardinge Bridge, got delinked from the trunk route in 1947. As all the other tracks in the area were metre gauge, it was converted from broad gauge to metre gauge in the late forties. When New Jalpaiguri railway station came up, the line was extended to New Jalpaiguri. When broad-gauge lines were laid in the area, it was reconverted to broad gauge and now functions as the [[Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line]].<ref name=njp/>

==Haldibari–Chilahati==
There were proposals to reoperationalise the Haldibari–Chilahati section. Bangladesh Railway had to construct 7.5 kilometres of new rail tracks from {{stnlnk|Chilahati}} to reach the border while the Indian authorities had to set up 4.5 kilometres of tracks from its border to Haldibari railway station.<ref name=priyo/>

In the joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh, on 7 September 2011, it was stated: "Bangladesh Prime Minister expressed her appreciation to the Indian Prime Minister for amendment of the MoU between the Bangladesh and Indian Railways allowing Rohanpur-Singabad as an additional route for both bulk and container cargo for Nepalese rail transit traffic. Bangladesh side also appreciated the assistance from India for the movement of fertilizers from Bangladesh to Nepal by rail route. They also agreed to re-establish rail connections between Chilahati–Haldibari and Kulaura–Mahishashan in the spirit of encouraging revival of old linkages and transport routes between the two countries."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/5147/Joint+Statement+on+the+occassion+of+the+visit+of+the+PM+of+India+to+Bangladesh |title = Joint Statement on the occasion of the visit of the PM of India to Bangladesh, 7 September 2011| work = Item No. 40 | publisher = Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India | access-date = 2013-03-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/communication/2018/09/18/new-project-to-revamp-bangladesh-s-rail-link-with-darjeeling New project to revamp Bangladesh's rail link with Darjeeling], ''Dhaka Tribune'', September 18, 2018, accessed October 3, 2019</ref>

The Haldibari-Chilahati link was relaunched with freight operations on 1 August 2021.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://indbiz.gov.in/relaunching-of-indo-bangladesh-train-link-to-further-connectivity-and-cross-border-trade/ | title = Relaunching of Indo-Bangladesh train link to further connectivity and cross-border trade| publisher = Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India |access-date= 24 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2 August 2021|title=Starting of freight trains via restored Haldibari (India) – Chilahati (Bangladesh) rail link|url=https://pib.gov.in/pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1741647|access-date=2022-01-22|website=|publisher=Press Information Bureau, Government of India}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External Links ==
*[[Departures from Haldibari Railway Station]]
{{Adjacent stations|noclear=y
|system=Indian Railways
|line=Northeast Frontier Railway zone|left=Kashiabari|right=|type=[[Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line]]}}

{{Cooch Behar topics}}
{{Railways in Eastern India}}
{{Railway stations in West Bengal}}
{{India–Bangladesh land border checkpoints}}

[[Category:Railway stations in India opened in 1878]]
[[Category:Alipurduar railway division]]

Haldibari railway station - Revision history

Thefacecentre at 10:51, 13 March 2026