Train travel is a wonderful experience in India, and it all starts with chaotic crowd, pushing coolies and choo-ing trains. But while one waits for the train to arrive at the station, we notice the different boards at different railway stations. The question that has invariably crossed our minds, at one time or another, is why some are stations while others are terminals, junctions or centrals.
Central
Most often, the oldest station in a city is named as a Central. A Central is the most busiest and the most important of multiple stations in a city. Centrals are usually huge in size and trains departing or arriving run on almost every route of the country.
The five major Central stations of India are –
Mumbai Central (BCT)
Kanpur Central (CNB)
Chennai Central (MAS)
Mangalore Central (MAQ)
Trivandrum Central (TVC)
Terminal/Terminus
Terminal literally translates to termination. In context of a railway station, it is the termination of track, where each incoming track ends at stop-blocks and does not go any further.
For Example –
Anand Vihar is a terminal in New Delhi or Bandra Terminus in Mumbai
Junction
Junction is a station where three or more train lines converge or diverge. Basically, a station to be called a junction needs at least three train lines going out of the station and trains that come into the station must have at least two outgoing train lines.
The major junctions in India are –
Howrah Junction, Ambala Cantt, Koderma Junction, Patna Junction, Allahabad Junction, Agra Cantt and more.
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