Indian Railways is working on a series of measures to ease congestion at Kanpur Central, one of the busiest railway stations on the Howrah-Delhi route, reported The Indian Express.
The 96-year-old station, which comes under North Central Railway’s Prayagraj Division, handles heavy passenger and train traffic. The proposed measures are aimed at increasing line capacity, improving train operations and making passenger movement more efficient.
Kanpur Central is a key junction on the Howrah-Delhi broad gauge route. The wider Kanpur railway area includes Kanpur Central, Kanpur Goods Marshalling Yard, Govindpuri, Panki Dham, Kanpur Central Goods Shed and Kanpur Anwarganj.
Kanpur Central handles 300 trains, 1.09 lakh passengers daily
The station opened for rail traffic on March 29, 1930, replacing the older Cawnpore station as rail and industrial activity in the city expanded. The foundation stone for the new station was laid on November 16, 1928, with construction costing around Rs 19.75 lakh at the time.
Dr Shivam Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), North Central Railway, said Kanpur Central has the third-largest centralised interlocking route system in the world, according to The Indian Express.
The railway official said the city’s population has increased from around 20.5 lakh in 1991 to more than 31.5 lakh in 2021. It is projected to reach nearly 38 lakh by 2031 and cross 52 lakh by 2050.
Around 300 trains pass through the Kanpur area each day, including 220 passenger and 42 freight trains. Of these, 33 pairs originate or terminate in Kanpur, comprising 15 Mail/Express, five passenger and 13 MEMU trains.
Kanpur Central has 11 running lines and 10 platforms. Its coaching complex has five pit lines, six stabling lines and two sick lines.
The station records an average daily footfall of about 94,600 passengers. Including Kanpur Anwarganj, Govindpuri and Panki Dham, the railway stations in the Kanpur area handle around 1.09 lakh passengers every day, based on FY 2025-26 figures.
Yard remodelling, new lines to increase capacity
Kanpur Central is being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS). Structural work on the new station building, commercial building and electrical substations on both the City and Cantonment sides has been completed, while finishing work is underway.
Work is also progressing on the air concourse, platform shelters, platform surface improvements and an underground parking facility.
North Central Railway will also undertake yard remodelling at Kanpur Central at an estimated cost of Rs 42 crore. The project includes a new electronic interlocking system and extension of platforms 3, 8 and 9. The work is expected to begin by the end of this year.
Two additional railway lines are planned on the extreme northern side of the Kanpur Central yard at a cost of Rs 18.59 crore. The lines are intended to increase yard capacity and allow more trains to be handled on the Lucknow route. The work will be taken up after completion of the recently sanctioned Harrisganj ROB.
The existing washing lines at Kanpur Central will also be extended at a cost of Rs 4.17 crore to accommodate 12-coach MEMU rakes.
GMC satellite station to ease pressure on Kanpur Central
The Kanpur Goods Marshalling Yard (GMC), located around 4.3 km from Kanpur Central, is also planned for development as a satellite station in phases.
The first phase involves construction of two new high-level island platforms in the GMC South Yard at a sanctioned cost of Rs 62.30 crore. The facility is expected to handle partial rakes of originating and terminating trains and reduce pressure on Kanpur Central.
The plan also includes a 12-metre-wide foot overbridge, a new station building and improvements to the circulating area. The development is expected to increase the number of coaching fit lines and provide direct passage for trains towards the East Central Railway, Eastern Railway, North Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway.
“These are the sanctioned works. NCR is envisaging some more innovative alternatives to decongest the station in future,” the railway official told The Indian Express.