Dethroning the 1,336-m Gorakhpur railway station as the world’s longest railway platform – and making it to Guinness World Records– is the Shree Siddharoodha Swamiji (Hubballi) station, at 1,507.46 m. The station is located inthe heart of the city and is a key region for Northern Karnataka.
Being landlocked presented the age-old challenge of expanding the railway station to add more platforms. “That's when we had the idea to expand laterally,” reveals Khare. This tackled two birds with one stone. The division did not have to acquire new land and thus subverted any land acquisition-related issues. “A natural benefit of the lateral expansion was that the construction of the new platform didn't affect the functions and services of the other platforms at all.”
Costing a total of Rs 200 million, the project comprised platform construction, a third entryway and yard remodelling. As Khare tells us, “A third entryway was constructed for the Hubballi station and three more platforms were added, bringing the total number of platforms to eight. ”The eighth platform connects to the first platform and that's how these two make the world’s longest railway platform, with a total length of 1,507.46 m. Notably, platforms one and eight can accommodate two trains at a time.
Along with the platform, the project also included the upgradation of the train yard. From Ballari Junction to Tinaighat, the southwestern railway also undertook electrification work.
Further, Hubballi railway station has a full-fledged parcel office that facilitates the movement of goods like fish. Freight movement is carried out through the neighbouring station, Navalur, which handles automobiles from companies like Tata Motors, Tata Hitachi and Kia. “The Hubballi-Dharwad railway, being twin cities, was also recently upgraded with modern facilities,”adds Khare.
And aesthetics have not been forgotten – the platform in Hubballi features murals depicting the rich culture of northern Karnataka!
- Sneha Iyer