One station, two states
Navapur (code NWU) looks like an ordinary small station on the line between Surat and Jalgaon, until you learn where it stands. The boundary between Gujarat and Maharashtra runs through the station, so one half of it is in Gujarat and the other half in Maharashtra. That has made Navapur one of the best-known curiosities on Indian Railways.
How the border works
News reports describe how the border divides the station:
- The platform is reported to be about 800 metres long, with roughly 500 metres in Gujarat and 300 metres in Maharashtra, so a train standing at the platform is itself in two states.
- The ticket window is in Maharashtra, while the station master's office is on the Gujarat side.
- A bench on the platform is split down the middle by the boundary, a favourite spot for photographs.
- Announcements are made in four languages: English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati, making it one of very few stations to do so.
For passengers, though, it is one station with one code, and tickets and trains work exactly as anywhere else.
On the Udhna–Jalgaon line
Navapur is on the Udhna–Jalgaon line, the cross-country route linking Surat in south Gujarat with Jalgaon and Bhusaval in Maharashtra. It belongs to Western Railway's Mumbai division, has 3 platforms on 4 tracks, and sits about 123 metres above sea level in a largely tribal area close to Gujarat's Dang forests.
Why borders cross stations
Indian railway lines were mostly laid out in the 19th century, long before the present state boundaries. When states were reorganised after independence, and Bombay State was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960, the new lines sometimes fell across existing stations. Navapur is one result; Bhawani Mandi, on the Rajasthan–Madhya Pradesh border, is another.
Stopping at Navapur
- It is a popular photo stop for travellers who want to stand in two states at once.
- Trains between Surat and Bhusaval call here; check stops in our train timetable.