5 Central Railway Stations in India

The five Central Railway Stations of India are -

  1. Mumbai Central
  2. Chennai Central (Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central)
  3. Mangalore Central
  4. Thiruvananthapuram Central
  5. Kanpur Central



1. Mumbai Central

Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express trains with separate platforms for them. It is also a terminal for several long-distance trains including the Mumbai Rajdhani Express. It is one of the five major Terminal stations in Mumbai while others being Mumbai CST, Mumbai LTT, Mumbai BDTS and Mumbai Dadar. Trains depart from the station connecting various destinations mostly across states in the northern, western and north-western parts of India. It was designed by the British architect Claude Batley, and constructed by the Shapoorji Pallonji in 1930 in a record time of 21 months. The project was then costed INR 15.6 million.



The station is divided into two parts. The eastern half of the station serves long-distance trains operated by Western Railways while the western half serves commuter trains running on the Churchgate–Virar suburban section of Western Railways. The mainline section has five high level platforms terminating in a large concourse on the southern end. The suburban section has four high level platforms. All the platforms are connected by foot overbridges and the mainline platforms are wheelchair accessible from the south end. A large Passenger Reservation Center with several ticket windows is located on the east side of the mainline station. Tickets between any two stations in India on any train offering reserved accommodation can be purchased from this facility. There are many Unreserved Ticket Counters in the main concourse for purchasing unreserved tickets for immediate travel on express and passenger trains starting from Mumbai Central. RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, on 22 January 2016 launched free public Wi-Fi service at Mumbai Central station in collaboration with Google.



There are two gardens located outside the station. There are several stalls in the concourse and on the suburban platforms serving snacks, chips, bottled water and cold drinks (soda). There are book stalls in the main concourse and on the suburban platforms selling newspapers, magazines and other reading material. Train timetables are also available at the book stalls. Restrooms (toilets) are available in the concourse on the mainline side.




2. Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station (Chennai Central)

Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, commonly known as Chennai Central (station code: MAS), is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway station in South India and one of the most important hubs in the country. It is connected to Moore Market Complex railway station, Chennai Central metro station, Chennai Park railway station, Chennai Park Town railway station and is 2 km from Chennai Egmore railway station. The terminus connects the city to northern India, including Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi as well as to Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Kerala,Hyderabad and different parts of India.



The century-old building of the railway station, designed by architect George Harding, is one of the most prominent landmarks of Chennai. The station was renamed twice; first to reflect the name change of the city from Madras to Chennai in 1996 it was renamed from Madras Central to Chennai Central, and then to honour the AIADMK founder and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran, it was renamed as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station on 5 April 2019. About 550,000 passengers use the terminus every day, making it the busiest railway station in South India.[6] Along with Chennai Egmore and Coimbatore Junction, the Central terminus is among the most profitable stations of Southern Railways.[7] As per a report published in 2007 by the Indian Railways, Chennai Central and Secunderabad were awarded 183 points out of a maximum of 300 for cleanliness, the highest in the country. Madras Central was built in 1873 at Parktown as a second terminus to decongest the Royapuram harbour station, which was being utilised for port movements. The terminus lies on the southern arm of the diamond junction of Chennai's railway network, where all the lines of the Chennai Suburban Railway meet. The terminus is located about 19 km from Chennai International Airport.

Chennai Central is a terminal station with bay platforms. The average length of railway tracks in the station is 600 metres.[26] The entire complex has 17 platforms to handle long-distance trains with 5 platforms exclusively for suburban trains. The total length of the station is about 950 m. The main building has 12 platforms and handles long-distance trains. The complex for suburban trains is popularly known as the Moore Market complex. There is a platform 2A between platforms 2 and 3; it is used to handle short-length trains like the Chennai Rajadhani Express, Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express, Bengaluru Shatabdi Express, Mysuru Shatabdi Express and the Gudur Passenger. The 13-storied annex building, the Moore Market Complex building, has 5 platforms and handles north- and westbound suburban trains. The station has bookshops, restaurants, accommodation facilities, internet browsing centres, and a shopping mall. The main waiting hall can hold up to 1,000 people.[35] In spite of being the most important terminus of the region, the station lacks several facilities such as coach position display boards.[36] The main concourses too have long exhausted their capacity to handle the increasing passenger crowd.



There are passenger operated enquiry terminals and seven touch-screen PNR status machines in the station.[38] The station has three split-flap timing boards,[39] electronic display boards and plasma TVs that mention train timings and platform number.[31][40] A passenger information center in the station has been upgraded with "Spot your Train" live train display facility, information kiosks and passenger digital assistance booths.[29] The terminus, however, has only 10 toilets, which is inadequate to its 350,000 passengers.

3. Mangalore Central

Mangaluru Central railway station, formerly Mangalore Central railway station (Station code: MAQ) is the main railway terminus in the city of Mangalore. It is one of the major railway stations in Karnataka state and it is the biggest terminal station under Palakkad railway division. There is also another railway station named Mangalore Junction railway station, previously known as Kankanady railway station. The Mangalore region provides the highest freight revenue to the Palakkad division, which sums up to 90 percent of the total revenue which the Palakkad division generates.



Mangalore Central comes under the Southern Railway and also provides connectivity for Konkan Railway and South Western Railway of the Indian Railways. Mangalore Central railway station is located at Old Kent road, Hampankatta. Rail connectivity in Mangalore was established in 1907. A metre-gauge railway track, built through the Western Ghats, connected Mangalore with Hassan. The metre-gauge track was converted to a broad-gauge track connecting Mangalore to Bangalore via Hassan. The re-gauged track was opened to freight traffic in May 2006 and passenger traffic in December 2007. A railway siding leads from Mangalore Central to the historic old Railway Goods-Shed in the old Port, Bunder area of Mangalore city.



For a year 1929–1930 the longest running train in undivided India originated from Mangalore Central. This was the Grand Trunk Express from Mangalore to Peshawar. The train covered the distance from Mangalore to Peshawar on the Khyber Pass in 104 hours. After 1930 the route of the Grand Trunk Express was curtailed and the train originated from Mettupalayam, Coimbatore. Trains from here connect the city to prominent state capitals of India like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram (via Southern Railway), Mumbai, Thane, Delhi, Ajmer, Ahmedabad (via Konkan Railways) and so forth. It is also well connected with Mysore, Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Madgoan (Goa), Byndur Mookambika road, Udupi, Kannur, Ernakulam and Coimbatore railway stations.

4. Thiruvanathapuram Central

Thiruvananthapuram Central, formerly Trivandrum Central (also known as Thampanoor railway station) (station code: TVC), is a major railway station which serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, India. It is the busiest railway station in Kerala and an important rail hub in Southern Railway. The building of the railway station is one of the iconic landmarks of Thiruvananthapuram. The station is located at the heart of the city opposite to Central bus station Thiruvananthapuram at Thampanoor. Thiruvananthapuram Pettah and Nemom are the adjacent railway stations towards north and south respectively.



Trains from here connect the city and the state to almost all the major cities in India. This station is also noted for a whole range of amenities available within the premises. The station has book-shops, restaurants, accommodation and Internet browsing centers. A satellite station was opened in 2005 at Kochuveli which is at 8 km towards northwest known as Kochuveli railway station, near the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. Most of the long distance trains departs from here. Thiruvananthapuram is the first tier 2 city from south along the longest train routes in India, the Kanyakumari–Thiruvananthapuram–Dibrugarh Vivek Express route and the Kanyakumari–Thiruvananthapuram–Jammu Tawi–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Himsagar Express route. A second terminal (South Terminal) was opened in 2004 to handle passenger traffic and later a West Terminal in 2007. To reduce traffic, the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station has 16 railway tracks. The Madras–Quilon line was extended to the capital of the Princely State of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram and was opened on 4 January 1918. This station has 5 platforms to handle long and short-distance trains. The Thiruvananthapuram railway station has two entrances. The main entrance is opposite to Central bus station Thiruvananthapuram and western entrance is on Power House road. The train care centre functions adjacent to western side entrance.



Nemom and Kochuveli railway stations are announced in railway budget as satellite terminals to Thiruvananthapuram Central. Kochuveli satellite terminal has started functioning with trains originating from here. There is a proposal to add two more platforms once Nemom and Kochuveli stations are operational with terminal facilities. Thiruvananthapuram Central is well equipped with modern security gadgets, and is the first station in the state to install video surveillance. The Networked electronic surveillance system is installed in this Central Station by Railway Protection Force (RPF) for improving the security and for monitoring the movement of passengers arriving at the station. It was announced in railway budget to convert Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station into world-class standards.

5. Kanpur Central

Kanpur Central (formerly known as Cawnpore North Barracks, station code: CNB) is a central and junction railway station in the city of Kanpur and is one of the five central Indian railway stations. It is third busiest in country after Howrah Jn and New Delhi railway station. It is a major railway station between Howrah Jn and New Delhi. It also holds the record for the largest interlocking route system in the world. All trains passing through this station stop here, including premium trains, and all superfast, mail and passenger trains. The station is a major intercity rail and commuter rail station in the region.



Other major railway stations in the city of Kanpur are Kanpur Anwarganj, Govindpuri Terminal, Panki Dham railway station, Rawatpur railway station, Kalyanpur railway station, Chandari, Chakeri, Mandhana Junction, Bithoor, Rooma, Bhimsen Junction, Sarsaul, Kanpur Bridge Left Bank and Old Cawnpore Junction. Kanpur Central has undergone a beautification and modernisation effort in recent years, especially following the inclusion of the station in the "50 World-Class Railway Stations" budget, which sought to modernise Indian railway stations, by former Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee. These efforts mainly include the improvement of services offered to customers and the redevelopment of existing features, such as the installation of a new platform surface at platform number one. The current phase of development is mainly focused on the cleaning up of the side of the station facing the city, with ₹15 million being budgeted to go towards the project.



A food plaza is designated to be built on the second floor and two new car parks are also being proposed. According to a NCR report the station needs at least 10 more platforms to support the ever-increasing passenger amount. At present, the re-modelling work is proceeding very slowly, but senior NCR officials are hopeful of keeping their promises. A three-layer underground car park has been proposed as well as the installation of two escalators leading to the footbridges passing over the railway lines. By 2010 a new footbridge was constructed at the west end of the station.