Longest Railway Platforms In The World

A railway platform is a section pathway along rail tracks in a railway station where passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. An ideal platform is one which is at the same level as the floor of the train, although traditional ones are quite elevated compared to the rail track and those that are lower than the train floor.

At 4,483 feet long, the Gorakhpur railway station has the longest platform in the world. It is the most important railway junction in Northern India with thousands of passengers using it to board trains on a daily basis. These are the longest railway platforms in the world:

Gorakhpur Railway Platform

Located in Uttar Pradesh, India, Gorakhpur railway station has the longest platform in the world since October 2013. It handles over 189 trains on a daily basis and serves ten local railway stations. Initially, the meter-gauge rail was divided into three; the 135-mile meter-gauge Gonda loop, running between Gorakhpur and Gonda, Kaptanganj–Siwan metre-gauge line was opened in 1913 and the 25-mile (40 km) meter-gauge Nautanwa branch line was opened in 1925. These were then converted to a single broad-gauge since 1981 which would have made Gorakhpur to have three railway platforms.

Kollam Junction Platform

Kollam Junction is situated in the Indian city of Kollam in the state of Kerala. It is the 2nd largest railway station in the state after Shoranur junction in terms of area occupied. It has the world’s second longest railway platform at 3,873 feet and is one of the oldest railway stations in India. The railway station connects to major Indian cities such as New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mumbai. In the 1900s, the railway line was built jointly by South Indian railway, Travancore state and sanctioned by Madras presidency. The main aim was to create a link between Kollam, which was then the commercial capital of the state, and Madras.

Kharagpur Junction Platform

In the Indian state of West Bengal, Kharagpur railway station has the longest railway platform measuring 3,519 ft. It is the third longest railway platform in the world and has previously for many years been the world’s longest. After remodeling, it was inaugurated on October 6, 2013. It has platforms no 1, 2, 3 and 4.

State Street Subway

The State Street Subway in Chicago, Illinois, in the US, is the fourth longest railway platform in the world at 3,501 ft. long. Its construction began in December 1938, after the city of Chicago successfully applied for a federal grant and loan from the Works Progress Administration. Today, the state street subway is one of the busiest and most well-maintained platforms in the US. It can handle high passenger traffic on a daily basis.

Other long railway platforms include Bilaspur railway station, Cheriton Shuttle Terminal, Jhansi, East Perth railway station, Kalgoorlie railway station and Sonepur railway station.