Twenty two tracks run through Santragachi Junction, and on a normal weekday almost none of them sit empty for long. Howrah district didn’t always carry this kind of load, most of it used to pile up at the older Howrah terminus itself, until South Eastern Railway decided somewhere around 2015 that splitting the traffic made more sense. That decision, honestly, turned out to be the right call, because Santragachi Junction now carries a fair share of long distance trains that once made Howrah’s platforms unbearable during peak hours. Somebody traveling south from Kolkata, or west, or even towards central India, will almost certainly pass through this station at some point in the journey. What follows is a region wise rundown of the trains running through Santragachi Junction, put together so travelers aren’t stuck scrolling past routes that don’t even apply to them.
Why Santragachi Junction Matters for Long Distance Travel
Before the terminal upgrade, Howrah handled almost everything on its own, and platforms there stayed packed around the clock, not much breathing room even at odd hours. SER’s decision to develop Santragachi changed that equation quite a bit. The station now originates and terminates dozens of trains by itself, separate from whatever simply passes through on the Howrah Kharagpur line. Worth checking trains between stations before assuming Howrah is the default choice, because Santragachi often has shorter queues and better last minute availability. Location helps too, the Kona Expressway sits right there, so road access from Salt Lake or central Kolkata isn’t much of a hassle. Six to eight platforms, EMU locals sharing space with AC superfast rakes, and honestly that traffic number only climbs each passing year.
Trains Towards Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka
Chennai grabs the lion’s share of southbound traffic here, which tracks, given how many Bengali families have someone working in Tamil Nadu these days. Runs efficiently too, the Santragachi Chennai Central AC Superfast Express, and most passengers checking live train running status for it report decent punctuality once monsoon season passes. Kerala and Karnataka get a handful of expresses too, some running weekly, a couple showing up more often than that.
- Santragachi Chennai Central AC Superfast Express (22807/22808)
- Santragachi Tirupati Express (22855/22856)
- Santragachi Mangaluru Central Vivek Express (22851/22852)
- Shalimar Nagercoil Gurudev Express (12659/12660)
- Shalimar Thiruvananthapuram Express (22641/22642)
- Shalimar Chennai Central Weekly Superfast Express (22825/22826)
- Howrah Chennai Mail (12839/12840)
- Howrah Chennai Central Coromandel Express (12841/12842)
- Howrah Mysore Express (22817/22818)
- Howrah SMVT Bengaluru Superfast Express (12863/12864)
- Santragachi Tambaram Antyodaya Express (22841/22842)
- Santragachi Tambaram Amrit Bharat Express (16107/16108)
Trains Towards Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Coastal Routes
Secunderabad and Hyderabad see steady footfall from this station, and a good part of that credit goes to the Falaknuma Express, a train running this stretch for decades now that still packs out around festival time. Seat availability in train worth checking early here, AC coaches especially, they clear out faster than most people expect. Direct connections reach Visakhapatnam and Goa as well, something that throws off a lot of first time travelers who assume Santragachi only heads towards Tamil Nadu.
- Howrah Secunderabad Falaknuma Express (12703/12704)
- Shalimar Secunderabad AC Superfast Express (12773/12774)
- Santragachi Hazur Sahib Nanded Express (12767/12768)
- Shalimar Hyderabad East Coast Express (18045/18046)
- Shalimar Visakhapatnam Superfast Express (22853/22854)
- Shalimar Vasco da Gama Amaravati Express (18047/18048)
Trains Connecting Odisha
Puri, without much competition, remains the most booked destination out of Santragachi among pilgrims and weekend travelers. Makes sense given how frequent trains on this route are. Train schedule is worth pulling up before heading out though, since departure timings do shift slightly across seasons. Western Odisha gets its share too, Sambalpur, Titlagarh, Jagdalpur, routes that matter a lot for anyone heading into the state’s interior.
- Shalimar Puri Sri Jagannath Express (18409/18410)
- Shalimar Puri Garib Rath Express (12881/12882)
- Howrah Puri Dhauli Express (12821/12822)
- Puri Shalimar Express (12887/12888)
- Shalimar Sambalpur Mahima Gosain Express (20831/20832)
- Howrah Sambalpur Superfast Express (22803/22804)
- Howrah Titlagarh Ispat Express (12871/12872)
- Howrah Kantabanji Ispat Express (22861/22862)
- Howrah Jagdalpur Samaleshwari Express (18005/18006)
- Shalimar Badampahar Express (18049/18050)
- Shalimar Bhanjpur Simlipal Intercity Express (18007/18008)
Trains Towards Western India
Mumbai, Pune and Gujarat’s coastline make up a solid chunk of what originates here, and the Santragachi Pune Humsafar Express in particular built a reputation for comfort over the last couple of years. Worth checking trains between stations before locking in travel dates here, since a few of these don’t run daily, just on select weekdays. Rajasthan’s covered as well, mainly Ajmer and Udaipur, and pilgrims heading to Ajmer Sharif lean on these routes constantly.
- Santragachi Pune Humsafar Express (20821/20822)
- Howrah Mumbai CSMT Mail via Nagpur (12809/12810)
- Howrah Mumbai CSMT Gitanjali Express (12859/12860)
- Shalimar Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express (18029/18030)
- Shalimar Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Samarsata Express (12151/12152)
- Shalimar Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Jnaneswari Express (12101/12102)
- Santragachi Ajmer Weekly Express (18009/18010)
- Santragachi Porbandar Kavi Guru Express (12949/12950)
- Shalimar Porbandar Superfast Express (12905/12906)
- Shalimar Udaipur City Weekly Express (20971/20972)
- Shalimar Bhuj Weekly Superfast Express (22829/22830)
- Shalimar Okha Superfast Express (22905/22906)
- Howrah Ahmedabad Superfast Express (12833/12834)
Trains Towards North and Central India
Delhi bound travelers mostly pick the Santragachi Anand Vihar Superfast Express, and fair warning, it books out weeks ahead during winter. Central India isn’t skipped either. Jabalpur and Bhopal both connect through Humsafar services, and live train running status on these routes tends to stay fairly accurate in real time. Further north, Gorakhpur gets its own weekly service too.
- Santragachi Anand Vihar Superfast Express (22857/22858)
- Santragachi Jabalpur Humsafar Express (20827/20828)
- Santragachi Rani Kamalapati Humsafar Express (22169/22170)
- Shalimar Gorakhpur Express (15021/15022)
Local and Regional Trains
Not every trip through Santragachi runs long distance. Digha, that coastal weekend favorite among Kolkata residents, connects directly through the Tamralipta Express, while Haldia and Kharagpur see frequent EMU locals moving through as well. Purulia and Bhojudih, both industrial belt stops, are covered too, and Barbil in Odisha has its own Jan Shatabdi service. Seat availability in train worth checking on these shorter routes, peak commute hours get crowded fast.
- Howrah Digha Tamralipta Express (12857/12858)
- Howrah Digha Kandari Express (22897/22898)
- New Jalpaiguri Digha Paharia Express (15721/15722)
- Howrah Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express (12021/12022)
- Santragachi Purulia Rupashi Bangla Express (12883/12884)
- Shalimar Bhojudih Aranyak Express (12885/12886)
- Howrah Hatia Kriya Yoga Express (18615/18616)
- Howrah Jamshedpur Steel Express (12813/12814)
- Howrah Panskura Local and Kharagpur Howrah Local EMU services
Food Options at Santragachi Junction
Long journeys turn uncomfortable fast without decent food, and Santragachi does try covering that with stalls spread across its platforms. Freshness isn’t always guaranteed depending on the hour though, which is why a lot of regular travelers now lean on train food delivery instead, ordering ahead so a hot meal’s waiting right when the train pulls in. Works particularly well on the longer southbound and western routes, where relying on pantry car food alone for twenty plus hours gets old fast. Families traveling with kids seem to prefer this route over standing in a platform stall queue.
Conclusion
Santragachi Junction has, quietly and without much fanfare, turned into one of the more important stations feeding Kolkata’s rail network. The spread of destinations alone, Chennai to Kerala, Gujarat to Delhi, says plenty about why SER chose to develop it this way. South for a family visit, west for work, or just a weekend run to Digha, a route through Santragachi Junction usually beats fighting it out at Howrah. Still worth checking updated schedules before travel days since timings shift a bit across seasons, but the station’s proven itself reliable enough to be a real alternative for long distance travelers leaving Kolkata.
