What is a Railway Terminal?
A Railway Terminal is the designated end-point of a railway line where trains originate, terminate, or reverse. It is equipped with infrastructure for passenger & freight handling, train maintenance, crew change, and stabling.
1. Technical Anatomy of a Passenger Terminal
| Functional Unit |
Minimum Indian Standard |
Purpose / Remark |
| Platform length |
600 m (BG) for 24-coach trains |
1 m extra over longest train for signal overlap |
| Platform height |
760–840 mm (BG), 380–455 mm (MG) |
Compatible with 1 295 mm coach foot-board |
| Platform width |
≥ 6 m (Island), ≥ 4 m (Side) |
As per Indian Railway Works Manual 2022 |
| Foot-over-bridge (FOB) |
6 m wide, 4 m clear height |
2 FOBs compulsory if daily foot-fall > 50 000 |
| Concourse |
1.2 m² per peak-hour passenger |
Fire NOC from State & CFO |
| Turn-back siding |
≥ 650 m (BG) straight |
For 160 m train + 40 m overlap + 20 m buffer |
| Cleaning & watering lines |
2 pit lines per 100 daily trains |
1.1 m deep inspection pit, 30 m long |
2. Freight / Goods Terminal Components
- P&D (Parcel & Door-to-door) siding
- Private siding – 5.5 m centre-to-centre (ISO container flat on 4-wheeler)
- CFS/ICD – 720 m long loop, 1 Mtpa capacity, 60 t electronic weigh-bridge
- Bulk terminals – 4 000 tph rapid wagon-loading system (RWLS) for coal/ore
- Cement siding – 6 000 t capacity silo, 4 km/h belt speed, 99.5 % weigh-feeder accuracy
- Gantry crane – 35 t × 35 m outreach for container handling, rail span 32 m
3. Historical Milestones
| Year |
Event |
| 1853 |
First passenger terminal—Bori Bunder (Mumbai CSMT) opened with 2 platforms |
| 1920s |
“Standard Designs” issued by L&SR—introduced 500 m platforms |
| 1957 |
First diesel trip shed at Sabarmati (MG) |
| 1986 |
First CONCOR ICD at Tughlakabad |
| 2003 |
Mumbai Central commissioned India’s first covered platform (roofing ≈ 50 000 m²) |
| 2017 |
All-India roll-out of “One-Station-One-Product” for freight terminals |
| 2022 |
Gati-Shakti guideline—mandatory 3 % land bank for future freight siding at new stations |
4. Current Status & Recent Updates (2020-24)
- Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (Feb 2023) – 1 275 stations to be re-developed as city centres with multimodal hubs; cost sharing 50:50 (Railway : Concessionaire).
- RRTS interface – Sarai Kale Khan (Delhi) & Duhai (Ghaziabad) provided 17 m height FOB for seamless airport/RRTS interchange.
- KAVACH automatic signalling – 1 096 km terminal approach routes fitted; overlap of 220 m ensured at all nominated terminals.
- Green certification – 84 freight terminals & 598 passenger terminals awarded IGBC/CII “GreenCo Platinum” (2022-23).
- PM-Gati Shakti Cargo terminals – target of 300 new goods sheds by 2025; 103 already commissioned (as on 31-12-2023).
- Station redevelopment funding – ₹ 1 10 000 cr corpus announced in Budget 2023-24; 50-year lease model.
- High-speed rail terminal – Sabarmati (Gujarat) first HSR terminal to have 1 100 m platform for 16-coach E5 Series Shinkansen.
5. Quick Facts for Objective Exams
- Longest platform in India – Hubballi (1 507 m, SR) (effective usable 1 505 m)
- Busiest originating terminal – Howrah (234 mail/express trains/day, ER)
- Highest elevation terminal – Ghum (2 257 m, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway)
- World’s largest roofed station – Nagoya (Japan) 4 70 000 m²; Indian biggest is Mumbai CSMT 1 20 000 m²
- Standard turnout speed – 15 km/h for 1 in 8½ symmetrical split at terminal approach
- Maximum gradient in passenger yard – 1 in 400 (uncompensated) as per Indian Railway Permanent Way Manual
6. Abbreviations (Terminal Context)
| Abbrev. |
Full Form |
| CFS |
Container Freight Station |
| ICD |
Inland Container Depot |
| RRI |
Route-Relay Interlocking (≥ 100 routes) |
| CRS |
Commissioner of Railway Safety—gives commissioning sanction |
| TSS |
Terminal Sub-station (25 kV/ 66 kV) |
| PFT |
Private Freight Terminal |
| RVM |
Reverse vending machine (under Swachh Bharat) |
7. 15+ MCQs for Practice
Q1. Minimum straight length of a turn-back siding for BG as per Indian standards is
A. 400 m
B. 550 m
C. 650 m
D. 750 m
**Answer: C. 650 m**
Q2. Platform height for BG passenger coaches in India is kept between
A. 455–550 mm
B. 760–840 mm
C. 1 100–1 200 mm
D. 1 295 mm
**Answer: B. 760–840 mm**
Q3. Which station has the longest platform in India?
A. Gorakhpur
B. Kharagpur
C. Hubballi
D. Secunderabad
**Answer: C. Hubballi**
Q4. First diesel trip shed of Indian Railways was established at
A. Tughlakabad
B. Sabarmati
C. Diesel Loco Works, Varanasi
D. Jamalpur
**Answer: B. Sabarmati**
Q5. Minimum width of an island platform as per 2022 Works Manual is
A. 4 m
B. 5 m
C. 6 m
D. 8 m
**Answer: C. 6 m**
Q6. Under Gati-Shakti, what percentage of land at new goods terminals is to be reserved for future expansion?
A. 1 %
B. 3 %
C. 5 %
D. 10 %
**Answer: B. 3 %**
Q7. Which of the following terminals will serve as the HSR terminal for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train in Gujarat?
A. Anand
B. Sabarmati
C. Vadodara
D. Surat
**Answer: B. Sabarmati**
Q8. The steepest gradient permissible in a passenger terminal yard is
A. 1 in 200
B. 1 in 400
C. 1 in 600
D. Level (1 in ∞)
**Answer: B. 1 in 400**
Q9. CONCOR’s first ICD was set up in 1986 at
A. Dadri
B. Tughlakabad
C. Nagpur
D. Whitefield
**Answer: B. Tughlakabad**
Q10. For a station with daily foot-fall exceeding 50 000, how many Foot-Over-Bridges are mandatory?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
**Answer: B. 2**
Q11. The electronic weigh-bridge provided at a new ICD must have a minimum capacity of
A. 30 t
B. 45 t
C. 60 t
D. 100 t
**Answer: C. 60 t**
Q12. Which is the busiest originating terminal in terms of number of mail/express trains per day?
A. New Delhi
B. Howrah
C. Chennai Central
D. Mumbai Central
**Answer: B. Howrah**
Q13. "Amrit Bharat Station Scheme" aims to re-develop how many stations?
A. 500
B. 750
C. 1 025
D. 1 275
**Answer: D. 1 275**
Q14. Target number of new PM-Gati Shakti cargo terminals by 2025 is
A. 100
B. 200
C. 300
D. 500
**Answer: C. 300**
Q15. The coach cleaning pit line depth is approximately
A. 0.5 m
B. 0.9 m
C. 1.1 m
D. 1.5 m
**Answer: C. 1.1 m**
Q16. Minimum concourse space to be provided per peak-hour passenger is
A. 0.5 m²
B. 0.8 m²
C. 1.2 m²
D. 2.0 m²
**Answer: C. 1.2 m²**
Last-Minute Revision Keys
- 650 m – turn-back siding
- 760–840 mm – BG platform height
- Hubballi – longest platform (1 507 m)
- 1 in 400 – max gradient in yard
- 1 275 – stations under Amrit Bharat
- 300 – new Gati-Shakti cargo terminals target
- 1.1 m – pit-line depth
- 2 – FOBs compulsory if foot-fall > 50 k
Keep revisiting these figures; they are favourites of RRB paper-setters.
BETA
