Howrah railway station (also known as Howrah Junction or Howrah Terminus) is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest and largest railway complex in India. Along with being the busiest railway station in India, it is also one of the busiest and largest train stations in the world. As per Indian Green Building Council, it was awarded CII-IGBC Silver Rating becoming the first green railway station among metropolitan cities in India. The station inaugurated its journey on August 15th, 1854 with the first railway line being built between Howrah – Hooghly Main Line. At present, about 600 passenger trains pass through the station serving more than one million passengers on a daily basis. In addition, utilizing its 23 platforms, it handles a total number of 252 Mail/Express trains, 500 suburban EMUs daily. Of the 23 platforms, 10 are long enough to cater to trains with more than 24 coaches. Goods and parcel trains also originate and terminate here. The Howrah–Barddhaman main line is the busiest line that connects this station. Howrah is one of five intercity train stations serving the Kolkata metropolitan area (including Howrah and its twin city of Kolkata), the others being , , and Kolkata railway station. The book Vibrant Edifice: The Saga of Howrah Station by Eastern Railways was released in 2005. History In 1849, a contract was signed between the East Indian Railway Company and East India Company and an initial amount allocated for the first section between Howrah and Raneegunge (Raniganj) via Pandooah (Pandua, Hooghly) and Burdwan (Bardhaman). Frederick Walter Simms, the consulting engineer to Government of India, initially envisaged a station on the right side of Hooghly in 1846. However following the fund sanctioning, Howrah was chosen as the location of the terminus for the new line. A bridge across the Hooghly River, a span of at the concerned stretch, was unfeasible at that time. In the coming years, the question of connecting the rail line to Calcutta was discussed frequently. On 17 June 1851, George Turnbull, the Chief Engineer of the East Indian Railway Company and his team of engineers submitted plans for a railway station at Howrah. Not realizing the future importance of railways in the country, the government authorities decided not to purchase the land and expensive water front needed for the project in January, 1852. Turnbull then developed alternative development