Although most people are familiar with the names of only five or six railway stations that are majorly used in the national capital, Delhi is home to 46 big and small stations.
Most of these railway stations are on the brink of elimination. However, the Ministry of Railways will reconstruct around a dozen of them under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
A total of 13 stations including Adarsh Nagar, Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Old Delhi, Delhi Cantt., Sarai Rohilla, Shahdara, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Narela, New Delhi, Sabzi Mandi, Safdarjung and Tilak Bridge will be rebuilt under this scheme.
Out of the 46, Old Delhi is the only central station, through which many railway lines spread in different directions like Panipat, Rohtak, Rewari, Mathura and Ghaziabad among others.
The Rewari line was earlier a metre gauge railway line, which has now been converted into broad gauge.
Also, the lines to Mathura, Ghaziabad, Ambala and Rohtak have been electrified up to Shakur Basti. Bypass lines and ring line have also been electrified.
A line has also been opened from Shahdara towards Shamli.
Along with this, a line from the Ring Railway in Delhi starts from Nizamuddin and joins the Rewari line at Patel Nagar, before further connecting to the Rohtak line at Daya Basti.
Apart from these, there are two bypass lines — Nizamuddin-Ghaziabad bypass and Daya Basti-Azadpur bypass. Usually goods trains pass through the latter.
Most of the trains going towards Punjab depart from Old Delhi (DLI) or New Delhi (NDLS) stations. Similarly, South Zone trains run from New Delhi or Hazrat Nizamuddin station.
Eastbound trains depart from Old Delhi, New Delhi and Anand Vihar Terminal. Trains to Rajasthan start from Old Delhi, New Delhi or Sarai Rohilla (DEE) stations.
Trains run on different routes from all the 46 railway stations of Delhi, a comprehensive list of which is as follows:
1. Adarsh Nagar Delhi station (ANDI) – Delhi-Panipat line
2. Anand Vihar Halt (ANVR) – Ghaziabad Bypass line
3. Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT)- Ghaziabad Bypass,
4. Indra Puri Halt (DLPI) – Ring Line
5. Okhla (OKA) – Mathura
6. Kirtinagar (KRTN) – Ring Line
7. Khera Kalan (KHKN) Delhi-Panipat
8. Ghevra (GHE) – Rohtak
9. Chanakyapuri (CNKP) – Ring Line
10. Tilak Bridge (TKJ) – Mathura line
11. Tughlakabad (TKD) – Mathura
12. Daya Basti (DBSI) – Rohtak
13. Delhi Kishanganj (DKZ) – Delhi-Rohtak
14. Delhi Safdarjung (DSJ) – Ring Line
15. Delhi Sarai Rohilla (DEE) – Delhi – Rewari
16. Delhi Azadpur (DAZ) Delhi – Panipat
17. Delhi Cantt. (DEC) – (Delhi- Rewari)
18. Delhi Junction (DLI) — New Delhi-Mumbai, New Delhi-Chennai, Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line, Delhi-Ahmedabad Highspeed Rail corridor
19. Delhi Shahdara Junction (DSA) – Delhi – Ghaziabad
20. New Delhi (NDLS) – Delhi – Mathura Line
21. Narela (NUR) – Delhi-Panipat
22. Nangloi (NNO) – Delhi-Rohtak
23. Naraina Vihar (NRVR) – Ring Line
24. Patel Nagar (PTNR) – Delhi – Rewari
25. Palam (PM) – Rewari Line
26. Pragati Maidan (PGMD) – Delhi – Mathura
27. Brar Square (BRSQ) – Ring Line
28. Badli (BHD) – Delhi-Panipat
29. Bijwasan (BWSN) – Delhi-Rewari
30. Mangolpuri (MGLP) – Delhi-Rohtak
31. Mandawali Chander Vihar (MWC) – Ghaziabad Bypass
32. Mundka (MQC) – Delhi-Rohtak
33. Lajpat Nagar (LPNR) – Ring Line
34. Lodhi Colony (LDCY) – Ring Line
35. Vivek Vihar (VVB) – Delhi-Ghaziabad
36. Vivekanand Puri Halt (VVKP) – Delhi-Rohtak
37. Shakur Basti (SSB) – Delhi-Rohtak
38. Shahabad Mohammadpur (SMDP) – Delhi-Rewari
39. Shivaji Bridge (CSB) – Delhi-Mathura
40. Sadar Bazar (DSB) – Delhi-Mathura
41. Sabzi Mandi (SZM) – Delhi-Panipat
42. Sardar Patel Marg (SDPR) – Ring Line
43. Sarojini Nagar (SOJ) – Ring Line
44. Sewa Nagar (SWNR) – Ring Line
45. Hazrat Nizamuddin (NZM) – Delhi-Mathura
46. Holambi Kalan (HUK)- Delhi-Panipat
Considering the population and importance of Delhi, it is undeniable that the railways is one of the best transport systems within this city and the rest of India.
Indian Railways has done an impeccable job in providing affordable means of transport for short and long distances, however, a lot of work still needs to be done on the cleanliness and maintenance fronts.
Nevertheless, it is the most preferred mode of transport for the majority of the people.
According to railway estimates, Delhi’s railway stations will get a complete makeover in the coming years and passengers will get access to several modern facilities.