Is it a Railway Station or a Railway Junction?

I love train travel😍. And hope most of you do. Have you ever wondered whats the difference between a Station, Junction or a Central or Terminal? 

Read on to find out!

Railway stations are mainly differentiated into 4 types.

1. Terminus/Terminal

A station is known as a Terminus/Terminal when the trains can enter and leave the station in only one direction. In other words, the track ends in the other direction. A train has to leave in the same direction as it entered. Some examples of Terminus are:

- Bandra Terminus (BDTS)
- Howrah Terminus (HWH)
- Bhavnagar Terminus (BVC)
- Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)
- Cochin Harbour Terminus (CHTS)
- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT)
- Yavatmal Terminus (YTL)

2. Central

A Central is a busiest and most important station in a city, which has multiple stations. It deals with a large number of arrivals and departures. These may be the oldest stations, so they are named as central. It is not necessary to have a Central if a city has multiple stations. There are 5 Central stations in India:

- Mumbai Central (BCT)
- Chennai Central (MAS)
- Trivandrum Central (TVC)
- Mangalore Central (MAQ)
- Kanpur Central (CNB)

3. Junction

If there are at least 3 different routes coming in and going out of a station, then it is called a Junction. In simpler words, trains entering the station should have at least 2 different routes to leave the station. Some examples of Junction are:

- Mathura Junction (7 routes)
- Salem Junction (6 routes)
- Vijayawada Junction (5 routes)
- Bareilly Junction (5 routes)

4. Station

A station is simply a place where a train stops for passengers/goods to enter and leave the train.

Thank You...

Cheers...