| Hili | |
| Style: | Bangladesh Railways |
| Country: | Bangladesh |
| Type: | Bangladesh Railway Station |
| Structure: | Standard (on ground station) |
| Status: | Functioning |
| Opened: | 1878 |
| Former: | North Bengal Railway |
| Map Dot Label: | Hili railway station |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Map Type: | Bangladesh |
Hili (Bengali: হিলি ) is a railway station in Hakimpur Upazila in Dinajpur District of Rangpur Division in Bangladesh. It is right on the Bangladesh-India border and has land border crossing arrangements. The other side of the border is also Hili - Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur.
From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, to Siliguri was in two laps. The first lap was a journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River, then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey. A metre gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.[1]
The Kolkata-Siliguri main line was converted to broad gauge in stages. The Shakole-Santahar section was converted in 1910–1914, when Hardinge Bridge was under construction. The Hardinge Bridge was opened in 1915 and the Santahar-Parbatipur section was converted in 1924.[2] The journey to Kolkata from Hili was only eight hours prior to 1947.[3]
During partition of India, the India-Pakistan border ran through Hili town, with around three fourths of the town in East Pakistan, later Bangladesh. Hili railway station located in Bangladeshi territory is a stone's throw away from Indian territory.[4]
Much trade between Bangladesh and India goes on via the Hili border.[5] Smuggling is rampant at the Hili border. Smuggled goods comprise sugar, onion, saris, medicines and even contraband drugs. Bangladesh border guards hold up trains to help the smugglers.[6]