All about New Delhi Railway Station

New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) located between Paharganj and Ajmeri gate is the most important railway station of Delhi. It is the busiest and largest railway station in India dealing with over 5 lakh passengers and 350 trains at its sixteen platforms.

It holds the record for largest system of route interlocking (48) in the world along with Kanpur railway station. It is the entry point to the North South and North East corridors. Most important trains to the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Bengal begin from this station.

History -

The imperial capital of New Delhi was started in 1911 and prior to that it was the Old Delhi Railway station that served the whole city. The Agra â??Delhi railway line split Lutyenâ??s Delhi. This line was shifted beside the Yamuna River and thrown open in 1920 for the new capital. For this new line, Hardinge (now called as Tilak) and Minto (now Shivaji) rail bridges came up.

The East Indian Railway Company, which controlled railways in the region, authorized the building of a single storey structure and one platform between Paharganj and Ajmeri gate in 1926. This came to be known later as the New Delhi Railway Station. Meanwhile, the government made plans to construct a railway station in Connaught Place which the Railways rejected as impractical.

In the next two years, a project by the New Delhi Capital Works dealing with the construction of 7.17 km of new lines was completed. The royal family of Britain as well as the Viceroy travelled via this station at the time of inauguration of New Delhi in 1931.

New structures had been added to the station down the years. The original building served as the parcel office for many years. The station handles over 300 trains daily today. It has 16 platforms connected by rail bridges between Paharganj and Ajmeri gate.

For the 2010 Common Wealth Games, the station was modernized and upgraded under the leadership of Terry Farrell and partners. The exterior, as well as insides were renovated and escalator set up.

Facilities -

• Well Connected: - New Delhi Railway Station lies at the heart of the city, near Connaught Place. It is easily accessible by road and also has its own metro station - New Delhi Metro Station, which links with all parts of Delhi. The metro connecting New Delhi to Indira Gandhi International Airport begins from here. It is close to Paharganj and Ajmeri gate, both popular with backpacking tourists, who are visiting Delhi. The Inter State Bus Terminus is also close by connecting Delhi with other states. Above all, the station is located just between Old Delhi and New Delhi and offers a sampling of both.
• New Premises-: In preparation for Common Wealth Games, the station was totally refurbished. It has become mandatory for porters to carry rate cards and tourist guide booklets. From the entrance to platform number 16, a great deal has been done to beautify the station. Flooring of platforms has been refurbished and steel has been used to design chairs, walls, and other fixtures. Entry lane for taxis and other vehicles have been decongested. New booking counters have been set up in the old parcel office areas. Booking centres can accommodate 500 passengers at a time. At platforms 1 and 16, digital reservation chart has been set up.

Radio taxi service has been set up and made available at Paharganj side of the station. A new office of the International Tourist Bureau has been set up on the first floor of New Delhi Railway Station.

There are plenty of small and big stalls in the station selling books, fruits and food items. Another major service instituted in late 2013 is free Wi-Fi connectivity at the station.

Famous Foods -

One will find numerous eateries on the platform. Examples for popular eateries include MacDonaldâ??s, Comesum and IRCTC Food Plaza which parcel food items. The most famous food of Delhi is the Desi junk food - Chaat (spicy mixture) including Dahi Papdi Chat (curd based Chat), Gol Gappe (spicy chaat) Alu Tikki (Potato cutlet) etc. Other favourite cuisine of New Delhi includes Punjabi Chinese (Chinese cooked in Punjabi style), Continental, and Italian and Thai food.

The main tourist spots in and around New Delhi are;

• India Gate: A memorial for the valiant Indian soldiers, who lost their lives in World War-1.
• Red Fort: Located in Old Delhi, this imposing fortress was built by Shah Jahan when he shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi.
• Rashtrapathy Bhavan: Modern New Delhi revolves around this monument. It has an imposing architecture planned by Lutyens. The Rajpath is part of the structure where Republic Day Parade is held. The Mughal Gardens hosts an annual flower show noted for its wide variety of lovely roses.
• Raj Ghat: The resting place of Mahatma Gandhi. Located on the banks of the Yamuna, it is a place of must visit for foreign dignitaries.
• Qutab Minar: Located in a small village called as Mehrauli, located in South New Delhi, it was built in 1206 by Qutubuddin Aibak of the Slave Dynasty. It is a red sand stone, fluted tower tapering up to 72.5 m tall decorated with carvings and verses from the Holy Quran.
• Birla Mandir: Also called as Laxmi Narayan temple, it was built in 1938 by the Birla family.
• Humayunâ??s Tomb: Designed by a Persian architect and built in memory of Humayun by his wife Haji Begum, nine years after his death.
• Chandni Chowk: Built by Shah Jahan as a market for his daughter to buy her things, it remains till today as the largest wholesale market in the country.
• Lotus Temple: Temple of the Bahaâ??i faith, this lotus shaped imposing structure is open to people of all faiths.

These are some of the popular spots around the New Delhi Railway Station. The New Delhi Railway Station is thus an important focal point of your travel to Delhi.

New Delhi - The heart of our country

Famous for being the Capital of India, New Delhi is also the seat of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of the Government of India.

Situated within the metropolis of Delhi, it happens to be one of the 11 districts of the National Capital Territory.

New Delhi makes for nearly 1% of the population in the Delhi metropolis. With 22 million residents in 2011, the region is the world's second most populous city while being the largest city in India as well as one of the largest in the world in terms of area. The money here is good too, in fact, after Mumbai, New Delhi is the second wealthiest city in India, with the 2nd highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.

New Delhi also attracts a great deal of tourism, being the city that it is, its rich cultural heritage, and the presence of iconic monuments such as India Gate, Jantar Mantar and the Red Fort to name a few, have become sites that are widely sought after.

Considering such a density of people in and around the city, the New Delhi Railway network can easily be counted as one of the busiest in the country. Facing a large crowd hailing from every corner in India makes the availability of good quality and hygienic food a little problematic.

However, since Travelkhana has been introduced, people can now rely on the service to have their meals delivered to them, right on their train seats.

Good quality and timely delivery are probably the two main components that make this service one of the preferred ways of getting the meal of your choice.

If you are availing the service, the food can be ordered from the following choices of restaurants:-