Busiest Railway Station in India? Facts, Ranking & Data
The question of which railway station is the busiest Railway Station in India, frequently sparks debate, often centering on iconic terminals like Mumbai CSMT, Howrah, or Sealdah. The difficulty in reaching a conclusion stems from the fact that the Indian Railways, a network carrying over 6.9 billion passengers annually, does not rely on a single central hub. Instead, “busyness” is a multi-dimensional metric defined by different factors.
Determining a ranking requires distinguishing between stations that act as massive geographic junctions and those that serve as high-intensity urban gateways. While some stations manage hundreds of transit trains with clinical efficiency, others handle millions of daily commuters in a state of constant social intensity. To provide a clear answer, this analysis separates the rankings into two distinct criteria: Train Frequency and Passenger Footfall.
How to Determine the Busiest Railway Station in India
In this blog we have divided the busiest Railway Station in India list into two different categories:
- Busiest Railway Station in India based on the number of trains passing by.
- Busiest Railway Station in India based on the number of passengers passing through these stations.
While evaluating the stations on the criteria of number of trains passing by, all the trains passing by are considered which includes passenger as well as freight or goods trains. For considering the busiest railway station, by the number of passengers passing by we have taken the daily passenger volume instead of the net passenger traffic accounted on the yearly basis. The stated figures are of the maximum figures and the daily number of visiting passengers may vary.
Busiest Railway Station in India (By Number of Trains)
Ranking stations by train frequency evaluates their role as critical nodes in the national logistics grid. This metric includes originating, terminating, and through-train movements: encompassing long-distance expresses, MEMUs, EMUs, and essential freight services.
4. Kalyan Junction (KYN)
Kalyan Junction (KYN) is often overlooked, which is strange given how much it handles. Despite having far fewer platforms than major terminals, it manages 800–900 train movements a day. Suburban locals, long-distance routes, freight lines all intersect here. It’s not flashy, but it’s fragile in the sense that any disruption spreads fast.
If you are travelling to Kalyan Junction or planning to do so, you can order hot food in train with RailMitra. We serve restaurant quality food directly on your train seat.
3. New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)
New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) handles approximately 931 daily train movements and holds the record for the highest number of unique trains, with over 350 services originating or passing through every day . Managed by one of the world’s largest route relay interlocking systems, NDLS is the central pressure point of the Northern Railway, where even minor delays can ripple across the entire national grid.
2. Howrah Junction (HWH)
Howrah remains a technical giant, operating the highest number of functional platforms in the country (23). It handles between 974 and 1,000 train movements every 24 hours, connecting the Kolkata metropolitan area to virtually every region in India . It is the historical gateway to Eastern India and remains a vital link for transcontinental heavy-load transit .
An important step for catching any train is tracking it. With train live status you can track your train’s live station along with the most accurate arrival timings.
1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai stands as the operational leader, managing roughly 1,250 train movements daily. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, it successfully balances its 19th-century architectural heritage with the functional demands of 18 platforms serving as the primary southern terminal for Mumbai’s Central Line.
While suburban “local” trains dominate the count, it also functions as a major terminus for premium long-distance services like the Vande Bharat and Rajdhani Express.
Table 1: List of Busiest Railway Station in india by Train Frequency (2024-2025)
| Rank | Railway Station | City / State | Daily Train Movements | Unique Daily Trains | Number of Platforms | Primary Zone |
| 1 | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) | Mumbai, MH | 1,250 | 250 | 18 | Central Railway |
| 2 | Howrah Junction (HWH) | Howrah, WB | 974 – 1,000 | 210 | 23 | Eastern Railway |
| 3 | New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) | Delhi, DL | 931 | 350 – 411 | 16 | Northern Railway |
| 4 | Kalyan Junction (KYN) | Mumbai, MH | 813 – 908 | 263 | 8 | Central Railway |
| 5 | Kanpur Central (CNB) | Kanpur, UP | 890 | 372 | 10 | North Central Railway |
| 6 | Patna Junction (PNBE) | Patna, BR | 771 | 179 | 10 | East Central Railway |
| 7 | Vijayawada Junction (BZA) | Vijayawada, AP | 760 | 350 | 10 | South Central Railway |
| 8 | Prayagraj Junction (PRYJ) | Prayagraj, UP | 717 | 320 | 10 | North Central Railway |
| 9 | Itarsi Junction (ET) | Itarsi, MP | 714 | 357 | 8 | West Central Railway |
| 10 | Vadodara Junction (BRC) | Vadodara, GJ | 709 | 170 | 7 | Western Railway |
Note: Data accounts for the surge in services recorded in late-2024 and 2025 operational assessments .
Busiest Railway Station in India (By Passenger Footfall)
This version of “busy” reflects the human dimension of rail travel. Footfall totals combine official originating passenger data with the massive, often uncounted volume of suburban commuters and transiting travelers.
4. Kalyan Junction (KYN)
Kalyan Junction (KYN) has a daily footfall of 800,000, which explains why it is often cited as the “Gateway to Mumbai”. It recorded the highest official annual outward footfall in India for FY24, at 83.7 million passengers, reflecting its critical role for the workforce residing in the outer Mumbai Metropolitan Region .
3. Howrah Junction (HWH)
Howrah Junction (HWH) handles approximately 1 million daily passengers and recorded over 61 million official “outward” (originating) passengers in the 2023-2024 fiscal year . Its scale is unmatched, serving as the primary terminal for both Eastern Railway (ER) and South Eastern Railway (SER) suburban webs.
2. Sealdah Railway Station (SDAH)
Sealdah is the commuter engine of Kolkata, handling 1.2 to 1.5 million passengers daily. Recent expansions to the Kolkata Metro Green Line have further soared its footfall, with recent peaks hitting 1.4 million in late 2025 . Unlike long-distance hubs, Sealdah’s pressure is relentless, driven by suburban trains arriving at minute intervals.
If you want to check what different trains run between Sealdah Railway Station to the station of your destination, you can check it using trains between stations.
1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai
With an estimated daily footfall of 3 million, CSMT handles waves of people that exceed the entire population of many small countries . It acts as a multimodal hub where the intensity is driven by the Mumbai Suburban Railway, the world’s busiest urban transit system, which carries over 7.5 million people daily.
Table 2: List of Busiest Railway Station in india by Passenger Footfall (2024-2025)
| Rank | Railway Station | City / State | Est. Daily Footfall | Official Annual Footfall (FY24 Non-Sub) | Revenue Category |
| 1 | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) | Mumbai, MH | 3,000,000 | 51,652,230 | NSG 1 |
| 2 | Sealdah Railway Station (SDAH) | Kolkata, WB | 1,200,000 – 1,500,000 | 51,369,230 | NSG 1 |
| 3 | Howrah Junction (HWH) | Howrah, WB | 1,000,000 | 61,329,319 | NSG 1 |
| 4 | Kalyan Junction (KYN) | Mumbai, MH | 800,000 | 83,792,667 | NSG 1 |
| 5 | New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) | Delhi, DL | 500,000 – 1,000,000 | 39,362,272 | NSG 1 |
| 6 | Chennai Central (MGR Central) (MAS) | Chennai, TN | 550,000 | 30,599,837 | NSG 1 |
| 7 | Patna Junction (PNBE) | Patna, BR | 400,000 | 24,773,916 | NSG 1 |
| 8 | Secunderabad Junction (SC) | Hyderabad, TS | 150,000+ | 27,776,937 | NSG 1 |
| 9 | Ahmedabad Junction (ADI) | Ahmedabad, GJ | 200,000 | 18,260,021 | NSG 1 |
| 10 | Vijayawada Junction (BZA) | Vijayawada, AP | 140,000+ | 16,839,464 | NSG 1 |
Note: NSG-1 (Non-Suburban Grade 1) status is awarded to stations with annual revenue over ₹500 crore or more than 20 million outward passengers .
Conclusion
India’s busiest railway station isn’t just a name on a list. It’s a reflection of how the country moves unevenly, relentlessly, every day. Some stations carry trains. Some carry people. A few carry both, and keep doing it without pause.
FAQs on Busiest Railway Station in India
Q: Is New Delhi Railway Station the busiest in India?
A: No, New Delhi Railway Station is not the busiest railway station in India. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) is the busiest railway station in India.
Q: What makes a railway station the busiest?
A: The number of trains passing through and the number of daily passenger footfall are the most commonly used metrics to determine or make a railway the busiest.
Q: Which is the busiest railway station in India by number of trains?
A: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) is the busiest railway station in India by number of trains.
Q: Which railway station has the highest passenger footfall in India?
A: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) has the highest passenger footfall in India.
Q: Which is the busiest railway station in South India?
A: With 760 daily trains Vijayawada Junction (BZA) is the busiest railway station in India by the number of daily trains. Chennai Central (MGR Central) (MAS) hosts 550,000 visitors daily and is the busiest railway station in India by the number of daily passenger footfalls.
Q: How does Indian Railways manage crowd at the busiest stations?
A: Indian Railways manages crowd at the busiest stations using multiple measures: schedule trains to different platforms and time slots, separate terminals for long range and short range trains, real time train updates and using Railway personnels at the most crowded time and platforms.