Siliguri Town railway station
Siliguri Town 'railway station serves Siliguri in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The other important stations serving the metropolis are Siliguri Junction, Bagdogra,,, Matigara and New Jalpaiguri Junction'. This is a small station consisting of three platforms, among them two broad-gauge platforms and one narrow-gauge platform. The legendary 43 up and 44 dn Siliguri – Kolkata bound Darjeeling Mail has also started its first journey from this legendary station. This station is located almost at the centre of the city. It opened in 1878.
History
In 1878, the railway line from Calcutta station to Siliguri was in two stages – broad gauge from Calcutta to Damookeah Ghat, on the southern bank of the Padma, across the river in a ferry and then to Siliguri. In 1881, the narrow-gauge line from Siliguri to Darjeeling was added. In 1926, with the Hardinge Bridge in position, the entire Calcutta–Siliguri line was converted to broad gauge and in 1947, following the partition of India the line was severed, as a major portion of the line ran through East Pakistan.In the post-partition era, with makeshift arrangements via and being metre gauge and narrow gauge, the focus shifted in 1949 to a new Siliguri Junction railway station and later still, in 1961 to the new broad-gauge station at New Jalpaiguri.