Bidhannagar Road railway station

{{Infobox station

| name = Bidhannagar Road

| type = 30px Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station

| style = Kolkata Suburban Railway

| image = {{Photomontage

| photo1a = Bidhannagar railway stn.jpg

| photo2a = Bidhannagar railway station.jpg

| size = 280

| spacing = 1

| color = #FFFFFF

| border = 2

| position = center

| color_border = transparent

| foot_montage =

}}

| image_caption =

| address = Ultadanga, Kolkata, West Bengal 700054

| country = {{flag|India}}

| coordinates = {{Coord|22.591230|88.390737|type:railwaystation_region:IN|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| elevation = {{convert|8.00|m|ft}}

| line = Sealdah–Ranaghat line

| other =

| structure = At grade

| platform = 4

| tracks = 4

| parking = Not available

| bicycle = Not available

| opened = {{start date and age|1862}}

| closed =

| rebuilt =

| electrified = 1963–{{start date and age|1964}}

| accessible = Not available

| code = {{Indian railway code

| code = BNXR

| zone = Eastern Railway

| division = {{rwd|Sealdah}}

}}

| owned = Indian Railways

| operator = Eastern Railway

| status = {{color|green|Active}}

| former = Eastern Bengal Railway

| passengers =

| pass_year =

| pass_percent =

| pass_system =

| services = {{Adjacent stations|system=Kolkata Suburban Railway

|line2=Chord link|left2=Sealdah|right2=Dum Dum Junction|to-left2=Sealdah

|line3=Circular|left3=Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt|right3=Dum Dum Junction}}

| services_collapsible = yes

| route_map =

| map_state = collapsed

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-custom = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=180|zoom=14|type=point|marker=rail}}

}}

Bidhannagar Road is a Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station on the Sealdah–Ranaghat line. Its code is BNXR. It is linked to the Sealdah South lines via Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt railway station. It is located in Ultadanga, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It serves Ultadanga, Kankurgachi, Salt Lake and other surrounding areas in Kolkata.

Naming

Under the initiative of former West Bengal Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the town was built by pumping the alluvium containing the Ganges' saline water to fill the low-lying areas, hence the name was made 'Saline Lake' or 'Salt Lake'. In 1972, under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress was to be held in this 'Salt Lake'.

Congress delegates from all over India kept coming through Ultadanga station of Indian Railways. Incidentally, at that time, i.e. in 1972 AD, the name of 'Salt Lake' town was changed to 'Bidhanagar' and 'Ultadanga railway station' was renamed to 'Bidhanagar Road railway station'.

Design

The station is rather uniquely designed. Platform no. 2 and 3 share the same island platform. However, the platform is very long (double the length of a normal platform) and is half the width of an island platform serving trains of both sides. The southern half of the platform is used as platform 2 and the northern half is used as platform 3. The section of track which is not being used by the platforms has been fenced to provide safety from the accelerating trains.

History

{{stack

|File:Bidhan Nagar Railway Station 01784.JPG

}}

The Sealdah–Kusthia line of Eastern Bengal Railway was opened to traffic in 1862.{{cite web| url = http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-hist.html|title =IR History: Early days (1832–1865) | publisher=IRFCA | access-date = 2 May 2013}} Eastern Bengal Railway worked on the eastern side of the Hooghly River.{{cite web| url = http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=Eastern_Bengal_Railway |title =Eastern Bengal Railway | publisher=fibis | access-date = 2 May 2013}}

Electrification

The Sealdah–Ranaghat sector was electrified in 1963–64.{{cite web| url = http://irfca.org/docs/electrification-history.html |title = History of Electrification | publisher= IRFCA| access-date = 2 May 2013}}

Handling Capacity

Bidhannagar Road railway station handles 975,000 passengers every day, with about 325 trains in both directions.{{cite web| url = http://railenquiry.in/stationinfo/BNXR/Bidhannagar-road |title = Bidhan Nagar | publisher= Railenquiry.in | access-date = 5 May 2013}}

Connections

= Bus =

Bus route number 12C/2, 30C/1, 32A, 43/1, 44, 44A, 45, 46, 46A, 46B, 47/1, 79D, 91C, 201, 206, 211, 211B, 215, 215A, 215A/1, 217, 217A, 217B, 221, 223, 237, L238, 253, 260, DN8, DN16/1, DN17, KB16, KB17, KB21, KB22, JM2, JM4, 007, K1, 5 (Mini), 20 (Mini), 20A (Mini), 29 (Mini), S138 (Mini), S151 (Mini), S152 (Mini), S171 (Mini), S172 (Mini), S175 (Mini), S184 (Mini), C14/1, C41, C42, C48, D7/1, D11A, D20, D22, E17, E25, E25A, E36, E39, E46, E47, MX1, MX3, S12C, S14C, S16, S19, S21, S30A, S30D, S37, S37A, S58, T11, 15, AC2, AC10, AC30, AC30S, AC35, AC37, AC37C, AC39, AC49A, AC50, AC50A, ACT5, ACT7, ACT9, M4, M10, MN5, MN10, MN20, MW7, V1, VS1, VS2, VS14, ST7, ST15, ST21 serve the station.{{Cite web|url=http://transport.wb.gov.in/transport-services/bus-services/|title = Bus Services}}