The Gate of the Gods
Haridwar's name is often read as the gateway to God: it is where the Ganga leaves the Himalaya and enters the plains, and one of Hinduism's holiest cities. Haridwar railway station, officially Haridwar Junction (code HW), is how most pilgrims arrive, bound for the evening Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri, for Rishikesh upstream, or for the long road to the Char Dham shrines. The station belongs to Northern Railway's Moradabad division, about 294 metres above sea level on NH 58 at Devpura.
The railway reaches the Ganga
- 1886: Haridwar is connected to the railway by a branch from Laksar, as the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway extends its line through Roorkee to Saharanpur.
- Turn of the century: the line is carried on to Dehradun, 52 km away, completing the route into the Doon Valley.
A branch line also links Haridwar with Rishikesh, so pilgrims can continue by train to the yoga capital.
Nine platforms for festival crowds
Haridwar has 9 platforms, four of them terminal platforms, on 13 tracks, far more than a town of its size would normally need. The reason is the scale of its festivals: the Kumbh Mela, held here every twelve years with an Ardh Kumbh in between, and the annual Kanwar Yatra, when vast numbers of devotees collect Ganga water. Recent upgrades added escalators and lifts, refurbished waiting halls and retiring rooms, a coach-guidance system on platforms 1–4, and stronger CCTV surveillance with RPF and GRP posts.
Getting around
| Destination | Distance |
|---|---|
| Saharanpur | 76 km |
| Dehradun | 52 km |
| Jolly Grant Airport | 42 km |
Arriving for darshan
- Har Ki Pauri is a short ride from the station; roads near the ghats close to vehicles at festival times.
- Trains from Delhi, including Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi services to Dehradun, stop here; find them on our train schedule page.
- Haridwar's railway runs under the same division as Moradabad, which manages the lines into Uttarakhand.