Bhopal Junction railway station BPL is a major railway junction of India and main railway station of Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This station also serves as a connecting point for various pilgrims from Asia to visit the Stupa of Sanchi, an important Buddhist stupa, which is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from this station
Construction
The station was constructed in year 1910. The second station for the city (Bhopal Habibganj) was constructed in year 1975 and its inauguration was done by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. Later on, the city of Bhopal got 4 new other local railway stations named:
| Station name | Station code | Railway zone | Total platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhopal Junction | BPL | West Central Railway | 6 |
| Bhopal Habibganj | HBJ | West Central Railway | 5 |
| Bhopal Bairagarh | BIH | West central Railway | 2 |
| Bhopal Misrod | MSD | West Central Railway | 2 |
| Bhopal Sukhisewania | SUW | West Central Railway | 3 |
| Bhopal Mandideep | MDP | West Central Railway | 2 |
Altogether the city has six railway stations within its city limits.
The main railway station as well as Bhopal Habibganj are selected along with 47 other railway stations to emerge as The World Class Railway Station. The Bhopal Junction and Bhopal Habibganj have already received ISO 9001:2000 CERTIFICATE.
Location
The station is located at about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of the city centre and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Bhopal Habibganj.
Infrastructure
The station has 6 platforms in addition to enough waiting halls, refreshment centre, passenger ticket counter and ticket vending machines, vehicle parking, communication facility, sanitary facility and dedicated Government Railway Police force to ensure security.
Services
Bhopal Junction railway station is located on the main Delhi–Chennai route which halts more than 200 daily trains, with a total of more than 380 trains within a week. To the north of the Bhopal Junction lies Bina Junction, to the south lies Itarsi Junction. There is one track which connects Bhopal to the west with Ujjain Junction, Sehore, Ratlam Junction and Ahmedabad Junction. Also to some portion of Indore Junction, Sehore and Dewas Junction.
Development
The Bhopal railway station has become the India’s first railway station to have a sanitary napkin vending machine named as ‘Happy Nari’. The machine dispenses two sanitary napkins at the cost of Rs 5 only and accepts Rs 5 coins. The sanitary pads vending machine has been installed at platform No.1 by the Railway Women Welfare Association of Bhopal. The machine has the capacity of holding 75 sanitary pads. A specially trained female staff will refill the machine.