New Delhi railway station (station code: NDLS) is the main railway station in Delhi. Platform 1 is located at Paharganj and platform 16 opens up on to the side of Ajmeri Gate. The station is about two kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Connaught Place in Central Delhi. It is one of the busiest railway stations in the country in terms of train frequency and passenger movement. Until the 1950s, the Old Delhi railway station was the main station in Delhi. The official inauguration of the one platform New Delhi railway station took place in 1956. The station building at Paharganj was the first in India to have common station facilities for all classes of passengers including a common entry and exit. With the station meeting its saturation limit as early as the 1970s, there have been continuous efforts over the decades to decongest the station including the rail traffic. By the 1980s the station had seven platforms, in 1995 it had ten platforms and during the 2010 redevelopment the platforms increased to sixteen. The new station building on the side of the Ajmeri Gate was upgraded during this redevelopment. Delhi Metro connectivity has been integrated. The 16 platforms cater to around 235 trains which start, end, or pass through the station daily. According to different studies and periods of the year estimates for daily footfall and passengers handled varies. The average daily passenger inflow and outflow is about 2.13 lakh (Bhatnagar & Ram 2022); other estimates place daily footfall at around 5 lakh, which can reach 6 lakh during peak festival season. Since 1999, the station holds the record for the largest route relay interlocking system in the world. As per the categorization of Indian Railway stations by commercial importance the station was formerly ranked A1 and is now an NSG-1 (Non-Suburban Grade-1) station.
