Several major trains of the Indian Railways, which had been arriving in or departing from Howrah railway station so long will be operating from Shalimar railway station, December onwards.  

The decision has been taken to decongest the Howrah station which is the major terminal catering to Kolkata and its suburbs. The Howrah railway station (also called the Howrah Junction) is located on the bank of the Hooghly River, while Kolkata lies on the opposite bank.

According to a release by the South Eastern Railway, the trains which will start or terminate in Shalimar are 12881/12882 Howah-Puri-Howrah Garib Rath Bi-weekly Express , 12887/12888 Howrah-Puri-Howrah Weekly Express, 12895/12896 Howrah-Puri-Howrah Weekly Express, 22803/22804 Howrah-Sambalpur-Howrah Weekly Express and 12152/12151 Howrah-LTT Mumbai-Howrah Samarsata Bi-weekly Express.

The date of change of terminal from Howrah to Shalimar will be from the date of resumption of services of these trains, according to the release. The expected change is likely to be implemented from early December. Therefore passengers must consult the railway timetable before making their travel plans.

The release has also mentioned that though additional stoppage will be provided at Santragachi in Up direction, there will be no change in timings from Kharagpur and onwards.

Once part of the Shalimar Railway Yard of Howrah, this station is operated by the South-eastern Railway. It is around 10km by road from Kolkata&rsquos city centre, Esplanade.