Vijayawada Junction railway station

Vijayawada Railway station (station code:BZA)[1] is an Indian railway station in Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh, categorized as a Non-Suburban Grade-2 (NSG-2) station in Vijayawada railway division.[2] Situated at the junction of Howrah-Chennai and New Delhi–Chennai main lines,[3][4] it is the fourth busiest railway station in the country after Howrah Junction, Kanpur Central and New Delhi.[5] The station serves about 1.40 lakh passengers, over 180 express and 150 freight trains everyday.[4]. It is one of the major railway junctions of the Indian Railways and is a nationally important halt.

Vijayawada Junction
Vijayawada Railway station
LocationRailway Station Rd, Hanumanpet, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
India
Coordinates16.5184°N 80.6195°E / 16.5184; 80.6195
Elevation19.354 metres (63.50 ft)
Operated byIndian Railways
Line(s)Howrah-Chennai main line, New Delhi-Chennai main line
Platforms10
Tracks22
Construction
Structure typeStandard (on ground station)
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled access
Other information
Station codeBZA
Zone(s) South Coast Railway
Division(s) Vijayawada
History
Opened1888 (1888)
Traffic
Passengers51 millions approx.
Services
Preceding station   Indian Railways   Following station
New Delhi–Chennai main line
Howrah-Chennai main line
TerminusVijayawada–Nidadavolu loop line
Location
Vijayawada Junction
Location in Andhra Pradesh
Vijayawada Junction
Location in India

History

The Vijayawada city junction railway station was constructed in 1888 when the Southern Maharatta Railway's main eastward route was connected with other lines going through Vijayawada. In 1889, the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway constructed a line between Secunderabad Railway Station and Vijayawada as an extension railway for Bezawada; the station subsequently became a junction of three lines from different directions.

On 1 November 1899, the broad gauge line was constructed between Vijayawada and Chennai, making rail journey between Chennai, Mumbai, Howrah, New Delhi and Hyderabad possible. In the following decades the Vijayawada railway station was developed into a junction until the nationalisation of all the independent railways in India occurred; following nationalisation, Indian Railways was formed under the Ministry of Railways in 1950 by the Government of India. The Vijayawada railway station, as the headquarters of Vijayawada Division, was assigned to the Southern Railway. In 1966, a new zone, South Central Railway, was formed, with Secunderabad as its headquarters; Vijayawada Division and Vijayawada Junction were merged with the new railway.

In 1969, the Golconda Express was introduced between Vijayawada and Secunderabad as the express steam-hauled train in the country, with an average speed of 58 km/h. As of 2012, the Vijayawada railway station is one of the busiest railway stations in India.[6]

Layout and infrastructure

Vijayawada station has the standard station layout, and has 10 platforms. All the tracks in the station are broad gauge and electrified. Trains have perfect traction inside the station. The seventh platform of the station is the largest of all.[7][8] Vijayawada station is a junction station for two main lines of Howrah–Chennai and New Delhi–Chennai main lines.[9][10]

Diesel engine train entering Vijayawada Junction

Since the headquarters of South-East railway moved to Bhubaneswar from Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada Railway station has seen major development and new appearance in the last five years. In the FY 2009, the Indian Railways Company board allocated ₹3.5 crore (US$490,000) for improvements to the transport hub.[11] A central aspect of the improvements was an "Integrated Security Scheme" which included construction of a compound wall around the station premises and a reduction in the number of entrances as a precaution against terrorism. SCR recently installed Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM)s at Vijayawada Junction.[12]

The Vijayawada Junction also houses a Diesel Loco Shed which has the WDM 2 Locomotive and also an Electric Loco Shed which has the WAG-7, WAM 4, WAG-5 WAP 4 locos.

The Vijayawada station was now arranged with a new Route Relay Interlocking system which returns the fast and punctual movement of trains into the city junction.

Vijayawada railway station has 5 pit lines for primary maintenance of Trains originating from here. Satavahana Express, Ratnachal Express, Pinakini Express, Lingampally - Vijayawada Intercity SF Express , Gudur - Vijayawada Intercity SF Express, Amaravati Express, Vijayawada - Dharmavaram Express, Vijayawada - Visakhapatnam UDAY Express Sainagar Shirdi - Vijayawada Express and few passenger trains are maintained here.

Satellite stations

The Vijayawada station has several satellite stations in order to reduce the congestion on the main station. They are:[13][14]

# Station Name
1 Gannavaram
2 Gunadala
3 Krishna Canal Junction
4 Kondapalli
5 Madhura Nagar[15]
6 Nidamanuru[16]
7 Ramavarappadu
8 Rayanapadu

Performance and earnings
Vijayawada Railway Station - Old Facade

An average of 1.40 lakh passengers are served per day and 50 million annually. More than 250 passenger trains and 150 goods trains utilize the station daily, with each train stopping for at least 15 to 20 minutes.[4][17]

No. of platforms10
TrainsPassenger258
Freight150
PassengersPer day1.40 lakh
Annual50 million

See also

References
  1. "Station Code Index" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. p. 46. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. "Stations – Category-wise (NEW)". South Central Railway. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. "Vijayawada railway station fourth cleanest in India - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  4. "Upgraded Gunadala rail station by March". Deccan Chronicle. Vijayawada. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. "Indian Railways' Vijayawada Railway Junction set for Rs 40 crore revamp and renovation". The Financial Express. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  6. "Vijayawada lays platform for Krishna fete". The Hindu. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. "Plans to develop railway station". The Hindu. Vijayawada. 24 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  8. Murali Sankar, K.N. (12 April 2008). "Railway station sports a new look". The Hindu. Vijayawada. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  9. "Profile". South Central Railway. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  10. "Jurisdiction". www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  11. "Vijayawada railway junction struggles to keep pace with increasing rush". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 February 2009.
  12. "SCR introduces mobile paper ticketing facility in 38 stations".
  13. "Train services to be partially affected for nine days". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  14. Papasani, Phanindra (29 March 2016). "Four satellite stations and additional 500 trains for Krishna Pushkarams". Times of India. Vijayawada. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  15. "Plea to develop 3 railway stations for Pushkaram". The Hans India. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  16. Gopi, D (7 November 2014). "Facelift for Vijayawada railway junction". Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  17. "A way out to decongest Vijayawada railway station". The Hindu. Vijayawada. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
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