Gaya Junction Railway Station is situated on the Howrah-New Delhi Grand Chord railway line in Bihar in East Central Railway’s Mughal Sarai Division. Two other broad gauge train lines from Gaya lead to Patna and Kiul Junction. The city has another railway station in Manpur Junction. Gaya is linked by the railway network with Patna, Biharsharif, Jehanabad, Rajgir, Nawada and Islampur as also most states in the country. The South Bihar Railway Company operated trains from Lakhisarai on the Howrah-Delhi main line to Gaya from 1900. The Grand Chord was built in 1906.

The Gaya railway station is second biggest and second most important station in Bihar, after Patna. It is served by numerous superfast trains from across the country. It is directly connected with major cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. It is directly connected to Guwahati too. Gaya is well-connected to neighbouring areas too. Over 150 trains pass through the Gaya Junction every day. As the ancient city of Gaya is a sacred for Jains, Hindus and Buddhists, it is a big tourist attraction. Bodh Gaya, about 10 km from Gaya, is home to the Mahabodhi Temple, where Gautam Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. National and international pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Bhutan and Japan arrive at the Gaya Junction to visit these places.

Facilities at the Gaya Railway Station –

The Gaya station is being upgraded with the construction food plaza, restaurants, and shopping areas as part of the effort by the railway authorities to improve the passenger amenities at the station. The station has nine platforms and the 10th is being constructed. The station has a special platform where pilgrim special trains stop. While the junction has two foot over bridges for reaching various platforms, the third is now being built. The Junction offers facilities like computerized reservation, waiting rooms, dormitory, cafeteria, retiring rooms, and a bookshop. The railway administration now has time-bound plans to improve the announcement system at the station, keep the station absolutely clean, build hygienic food stalls, and tone up the passenger reservation system and unreserved ticketing system.

Restaurants near the Gaya Station –

The restaurants in the close vicinity of the Gaya Junction railway station include Sas Bahu Restaurant, Anurag Restaurant, Surabhi Restaurant, E,2 Multi-cuisine Restaurant, Hari Om Café, Be Happy Café, Khushi Family Restaurant, Fusion Food Factory, Siam Thai Restaurant, and Om Restaurant.

Some of the good restaurants near the station include;

• TravelKhana – 08800313131
• Yuvraj Restaurant
• Skylark
• Biryani Corner
• Sujata Restaurant
• Anugrah Restaurant
• Shri Rajasthan Bhojanalaya
• Maa Bhawani Family Restaurant

Famous food of Gaya –

Among the typical food preparations of Gaya are marua-ka-roti, pittha, baigan-bharta, pua bari dal, and sattu sukhaota. The blackish marua-ka-roti is made from raagi, has high nutritional contents and dietary fibre. Gaya is the origin of sweets such as kesaria peda, anarsa, and tilkut. Tirkut is prepared from sesame seeds and sugar or jaggery. Kesaria peda is made of khoya, sugar and saffron. Anarsa is a deep-fried khoya and sugar preparation. The spicy and sour snacks quite popular among the Gaya people include alu-kachalu, samosa chat, and aalu chaat. Sabudana-badam bhoonja is a Gaya special made of fried groundnut, sabudana, salt, and jeera and chili powder. Bhoonja vendors roam around the lanes shouting catchy one-liners during evenings. Chanajor garam, a spicy snack made of black gram and its specific masala, is served with lemon juice.

Trains Passing through Gaya Railway Station –