| Ranchi Junction | |
| Type: | Indian Railways station |
| Style: | Indian Railways |
| Address: | Ranchi, Ranchi district, Jharkhand |
| Country: | India |
| Elevation: | 629m (2,064feet) |
| Line: | Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh–Hatia main line and Ranchi-Tori line |
| Structure: | Standard (on-ground station) |
| Platform: | 5 (main line), 1 (terminus) and total 6 platforms |
| Tracks: | 8 |
| Parking: | Available |
| Rebuilt: | 2009 |
| Electrified: | Double electrified BG (Tripling on process) |
| Owned: | South Eastern Railway of the Indian Railways |
| Operator: | Indian Railways |
| Status: | Functional |
| Former: | East Indian Railway |
| Passengers: | 1,00,000 per day |
| Map Type: | India Jharkhand#India |
| Map Dot Label: | Ranchi Junction |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Caption: | Interactive map |
Ranchi Junction railway station, station code RNC, is the A category railway station serving the capital city of Ranchi in the Ranchi district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi station is also the headquarters of the Ranchi division of the South Eastern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The Ranchi Junction railway station is connected to most of the major cities in India by the railway network.
Ranchi has trains running to Delhi, Kolkata, Dhanbad, Varanasi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kamakhya, Deoghar, Bhagalpur, Jammu, Surat, Eranakulam and Patna. The city is a major railway hub and has four major stations: Ranchi Junction,, and . It is one of the top hundred booking stations.
The total number of trains that pass through Ranchi (RNC) junction is 120.
In November 1907, Ranchi was brought onto India's railway map with the Purulia–Ranchi narrow-gauge line. First train whistle for Purulia was blown in 1907, now 60 thousand passengers travel every day.[1]
In 1911, it was extended up to Lohardaga.
In 2003, the Ranchi division was carved out from the existing Adra railway division of the South Eastern Railway zone. As of 2012 Ranchi station is being renovated and developed in the lines of Jaipur railway station.[2] The facade of the Ranchi station has been improved in February 2012.[3] In Feb 2012 two new platforms were added to the Ranchi station along with mechanical interlocking system.[4]
There are six platforms in Ranchi Junction.[5] The platforms are interconnected with two foot overbridges (FOB) and an escalator.
Ranchi Junction is located close to the bus terminal and domestic airport providing transport to important destinations of Jharkhand. Automatic ticket vending machines have been installed to reduce the queue for train tickets on the station. The railway medical unit provides health facilities is located near . Ranchi– Intercity Express, the only train running with a Vistadome coach in the state of Jharkhand, terminates at Ranchi.[6] [7] The nearest airports to Ranchi Junction are: