FCC

The World’s Longest Platform is here!

2023-03-28

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.

Initially, Platform 1 of the Hubballi railway station was 650 m long and the junction only had five platforms. “On one side, we have the city itself and on the other, we have the railway museum, workshops, EMD sheds and more,” shares Harsh Khare, Divisional Railway Manager, Hubballi division, South Western Railway. “Because of these, we were not able to expand. But the city is a bustling hub of industries and we had to cater to the growing demand.”

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...