Vadodara Junction railway station

Vadodara Junction
વડોદરા જંકશન
Location Sayajiganj, Vadodara
Elevation 35.348 metres (115.97 ft)
Owned by Ministry of Railways, Indian Railways
Line(s) Ahmedabad-Vadodara line
New Delhi–Mumbai main line
Vadodara-Chhota Udaipur line
Platforms 07
Tracks 9
Construction
Structure type Railway Station
Parking Available
Bicycle facilities Available
Disabled access BRC
Other information
Station code BRC
Fare zone Western Railways, Vadodara railway division
History
Opened 1861
Electrified Yes
Services

ATM, Baggage Room, Dormitory/Retiring Rooms
Refreshment, Waiting Room

Vadodara Railway Station is the main station in the Indian city of Vadodara, Gujarat. It is the busiest station in Gujarat and one of the busiest in the whole country as well as a major stop on the western railway zone of Indian railways.

History

The station was built in 1861 for the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway company by then Gaekwad ruler Maharaja Khanderao. The existing building was newly constructed by Indian Railways in 1954 by demolishing the original smaller station. The station celebrated 150 years of establishment on 9 January 2010.

Amenities

It is a fairly large station with 7 platforms on the main line with over 250 trains halting. There are 2 foot over bridge (FOB) connecting platform 1 to 6. Platform 2, 3 and 6 has sliding ramps and platform 1 has escalators. There are two exits. One via Platform 1 that opens towards the old city (as well as MS university and Central Bus Stand) while the other end is towards platform 6 (that open towards the new city- Alkapuri side).[1] Platform 6 is the longest with 704m length. A Pay & Use Tiolet facility is available at Platform 6.[2]

Platform 1 has waiting room and retiring rooms[3] as well as a refreshment canteen. Several ATM are located just outside platform 1. Platform 7 is ahead of platform 1 and acts as a terminus for some passenger and MEMU trains and facilitates reversing of some trains including the 9309/9310 Shanti Express and the Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express, which use the Vadodara Delhi line as well as the Vadodara Ahmedabad line.

Railway lines and college

The station serves three lines: the direct line between Ahmedabad and Mumbai; Vadodara and Chhota Udepur and the Delhi line via Ratlam, Kota and Mathura. Trains going towards the northern region use the Ratlam line while all other trains use the Ahmedabad-Mumbai line, such as the Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express, Delhi Sarai Rohilla Bandra Terminus Garib Rath Express, Gujarat Mail, Karnavati Express, Suryanagri Express and Ranakpur Express. The prestigious Mumbai Rajdhani Express, August Kranti Rajdhani Express, Trivandrum Rajdhani Express, Golden Temple Mail and Avantika Express amongst others also halt at this station.

The Railway Staff College is the alma mater for Officers of Indian Railways. It is situated in a sprawling campus of 55 acres (22 ha) of garden and wooded land in the Pratap Vilas Palace (built in 1914) at Lalbaug, Vadodara. It provides training to all levels of Indian railway officers, from probationers to general managers.

The college was founded in 1930 at Dehradun and then shifted to its present sylvan surroundings at Vadodara in 1952. Pratap Vilas Palace is surrounded by lush green lawns and was designed by C.F. Stevens in the renaissance style. The property was purchased from the Gaekwads, the erstwhile rulers of Vadodara and is home to peacocks and migratory birds.

Passengers wait next to the Rajkot Express at Vadodara Station

Vadodara electric loco shed

Vadodara has one of the largest electric loco sheds in the Western Railway zone. The shed houses more than 130 locomotives, which include WAP-4, WAP-5, WAP-7, WAM-4 and WAG-5 locomotives. Additionally it had an AC electric trip shed to house locos coming from other sheds and an AC/DC dual loco trip shed which houses WCAM Class locomotives from Valsad shed and which allows locomotive changes at Vadodara because the trains which were coming from New Delhi mainline are AC Locomotives and the trains going to Mumbai need AC/DC Loco. Until 2011, Mumbai was under DC supply from before Borivali when the Western Railway in Mumbai changed over to the AC system in February 2012, WCAM locos have been transferred to the Kalyan shed.

It also has a MEMU car shed which houses the Mainline Electric Multiple units which provides feeder services to Ahmedabad, Surat, Dahod and Godhra.

Recently, it has been allocated with WAP-7 and WAG-9 locomotives.

References

  1. "1675209-0: You may not need a porter if you have tr BRC/BRC/Vadodara Junction (7 PFs)". India Rail Info. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  2. "???" (PDF). Indianrailways.gov.in. pp. 19–23. Retrieved 2016-08-17.

Coordinates: 22°18′39″N 73°10′51″E / 22.3108°N 73.1808°E / 22.3108; 73.1808

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