Jhansi Junction railway station
 JHANSI JUNCTION Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jhansi Junction railway station | |||||||
| General information | |||||||
| Location | Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh India | ||||||
| Coordinates | 25°26′38″N 78°33′12″E / 25.4439°N 78.5534°E | ||||||
| Elevation | 260 metres (850 ft) | ||||||
| System | Indian Railways station | ||||||
| Owned by | Indian Railways | ||||||
| Operated by | North Central Railways | ||||||
| Lines | New Delhi–Mumbai CSMT Agra–Bhopal section Delhi–Chennai line Jhansi–Kanpur section Jhansi–Manikpur–Prayagraj section Jhansi–Gwalior–Etawah section Jhansi–Sawai Madhopur section (proposed) | ||||||
| Platforms | 8 | ||||||
| Tracks | 13 | ||||||
| Construction | |||||||
| Structure type | At grade | ||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||
| Accessible |  Available | ||||||
| Other information | |||||||
| Status | Functioning | ||||||
| Station code | VGLJ (formerly JHS) | ||||||
| Zone(s) | North Central Railway zone | ||||||
| Division(s) | Jhansi | ||||||
| History | |||||||
| Opened | 1880 | ||||||
| Electrified | 1986-87 | ||||||
| |||||||
Jhansi Junction railway station (officially Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Railway Station,[1] station code: VGLJ[2]) is a major railway junction in the city of Jhansi in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.[3] It is one of the busiest and largest railway stations in India.[citation needed] It hosts various trains of Indian Railways like the Gatimaan Express, which is the fastest train of India, as well as others like Bundelkhand Express. It is a major halt for various important trains of Indian Railways like Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Duronto Express, Punjab Mail, Kerala Express, Karnataka Express, Humsafar Express, etc.
It is a major intercity hub and a technical as well as commercial stoppage for all trains passing through Jhansi.
History
The railway station was built by the British in the late 1880s. After a long survey of three places the current site was selected for the station. The station has a massive fort-like building painted in maroon and off-white.
During ancient times, Jhansi was a stronghold of the Chandela Rajput kings and was known as Balwant Nagar. However, it lost importance in the 11th century after the decline of the Chandela dynasty. It rose in prominence in the 17th century when Raja Bir Singh Deo of Orchha State constructed the Jhansi Fort in 1613.
The station had three platforms in the beginning. Platform One is 2,525 feet (770 m) long making it the eighth longest station in India. It could easily handle two trains at a time.
The station was the focal point for The Indian Midland Railways Company which laid down lines radially in all directions from Jhansi, and managed the large workshop at Jhansi.[4]
The first Shatabdi Express of India started between New Delhi and Jhansi.
The fastest train of India Gatimaan Express runs between New Delhi and Jhansi. It is a high-priority train used by tourists and businessmen. Covering journey in 4 hours 25 minutes.
Earlier Jhansi used to be a part of Central railways zone headquartered at Mumbai but now comes under North Central Railway Zone headquartered at Allahabad.
On 1 January 2022, the train station was renamed from Jhansi Junction to Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Jn. Railway Station in memory of Rani Lakshmibai, the former Queen, or Rani, of Jhansi who fought against the British.[1] This change also changed the station code from JHS to VGLB and then finally to VGLJ, and the numerical code to 13309727.[1][5] There is a social media campaign against the new name, and people have complained about the name to the MP for Jhansi, Anurag Sharma saying that "Jhansi" should be part of the station's name.[1]
Connectivity
Jhansi Junction Railway Station is linked with many industrial and important cities of India by direct trains like New Delhi, Prayagraj, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Sagar, Lucknow, Etawah, Varanasi, Jabalpur, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Kanpur, Vasco da gama, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Amritsar, Pathankot, Lucknow, Bhopal, Chennai, Gorakhpur, Coimbatore, Jammu, Agra, Amaravati, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Banda, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode etc.
Jhansi Junction Railway Station is served by 4 broad gauge routes:
There is an ongoing survey for a new line between Jhansi Junction Railway Station and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh which would be further connected to Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur.
Many Indian Railways trains pass through Jhansi, including the Gatimaan Express (currently the fastest train in India).
- Gatimaan Express (origin Jhansi) (12049/12050)
- Shatabdi Express
- Rajdhani Expresses
- Taj Express (origin Jhansi) (12279/12280)
- Andhra Pradesh Express
- Karnataka Express
- Tamil Nadu Express
- Kerala Express
- Telangana Express
- Bhopal Express
- Dakshin Express
- Pushpak Express
- Bundelkhand Express
- Goa Express
- Duronto Express
- Jhansi–Lucknow Intercity Express (origin Jhansi) (11109/11010)
- Jhansi–Etawah Link Express (origin Jhansi) (11903/11904)
- Jhansi–Bandra Terminus Express (origin Jhansi) (22195/22196)
- Pratham Swatrantata Sangram Express (origin Jhansi) (22197/22198)
Jhansi is an important destination for tourists intending to go to Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Orchha.
Facilities
- Jhansi Junction Railway Station has 8 platforms, three broad over-bridges. Due to heavy usage, two new platforms are planned, increasing the total count to 11.
- Six pairs of the Rajdhani Express as well as the Bhopal–New Delhi Shatabdi Express pass through after a brief halt at Jhansi. Three pairs of Duronto Express also have their stoppages at Jhansi. All state Sampark Krantis passing through Jhansi have official stops at Jhansi. Overall, approx. 262 trains stops at Jhansi Junction Railway Station.
- Free Internet connectivity and wifi station through RailWire.
- The station also features a La-festa restaurant and a paid Executive lounge on PF-1 of VGLJ.
- Executive Class & Class II air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned waiting rooms facility available.
- A Cyber cafe, and tourist information offices of both the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh governments.
- Clock room booking of reservation and non reserved tickets platform tickets available.
- A new shopping mall under construction just in front of railway station
Loco sheds
Jhansi has electric and diesel loco sheds together.
- Electric Loco Shed, Jhansi has a sanctioned capacity of 150 locos.
- Diesel Loco Shed, Jhansi
| Serial No. | Locomotive Class | Horsepower | Holding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | WDG-3A | 3100 | 25 |
| 2. | WDM-3D | 3300 | 27 |
| 3. | WDG-4/4D | 4000/4500 | 70 |
| 4. | WDP-4/4B/4D | 4000/4500 | 8 |
| 5. | WAG-9 | 6120 | 25 |
| Total Locomotives Active as of February 2026[6][7] | 155 | ||
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Jhansi railway station is now 'Virangana Lakshmibai'. The station also got its new code abbreviation VGLB against the earlier one JHS". The Deccan Herald. 2 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Code Index" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. Centre For Railway Information Systems. 2023–24. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ Azhar. "Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Railway Station Map/Atlas NCR/North Central Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "[IRFCA] Ian Manning on the Indian Railways - Along The First Routes". Irfca.org. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "New code to book tickets for Jhansi Railway Station post name change. Passengers going to Jhansi Railway Station will now have to use 'VJLB' as code to book tickets instead of 'JHS', as per the changed name, a railways official said on Thursday". The Business Standard. PTI. 31 December 2021.
- ^ "e-Locos".
- ^ "Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)". Railway Board, Indian Railways. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
