Patna being the capital of state Bihar is very popular city and it is also one of the most populated cities. It stands as second largest city of East India; in 2011 it was holding approx. 1,683,200 populations. Since a long time Patna is principal agriculture center of country, mainly specialized in Sugarcane, grain, Banana, rice and Sesame.

Earlier Patna was named as “Patliputra” that was a capital of Magadha, the name changed along with time. Rajgir, Bodhgaya, Vaishali, Nalanda and Gaya are Buddhist and Jain sacred spots, these places are located nearby Patna. In fact it is a sacred place for Sikhs also as the last Sikh Gurus was born here i.e. Guru Govind Singh.

A modernization plan was sanctioned for Patna Junction in 2006, but not much has been done yet. The Railways decided in 2012 to improve major railway stations, including Patna Junction, to world standards by developing restaurants, shopping areas and food plaza for commercial business and improving passenger amenities.

Patna Junction is the railway line serving the capital city of Patna in the Patna region capital of Bihar. The Patna Junction track is joined with a large numbers of main cities in India. It holds one of the busiest stations in India due to lying in between New Delhi and Kolkata.

The city is a real route center point and has six significant stations:

• Patna Junction
• Rajendranagar Terminal
• Danapur Terminal
• Patliputra
• Patna Sahib

Patna is also linked with tourist spot Gaya and Rajgir for which daily express and daily travelling trains are being run by the authorities.

• Ganga Bridge at Patna –

The work on the construction of a road-cum-rail bridge, Ganga Rail-Road Bridge, began in 2006. It will connect Digha, Patna to Pahleja Ghat, Sonepur. The work was to be completed in 2015 but is unlikely to be completed before 2017. The 4,556-meter, 1389 crore bridge will be the longest road-cum-rail bridge in the country and among the longest across the world.

Patna Junction (station code PNBE) has many daily trains going to Delhi and Kolkata. The major railway hub has six stations: Patna Junction, Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Gulzarbagh station, Danapur Terminal, Patliputra Junction and Patna Sahib Station. Gaya, Jehanabad, Biharsharif, Rajgir, Islampur have daily express and passenger train services to Patna.

The railway operation began in Patna in 1862. It has two branch lines – the western zone branch connects Patna Junction with Digha Ghat and the eastern zone branch links Patna railway station with Patna Ghat. The Danapur division was established in 1925. The building constructed in 1929 now serves as the office of the divisional railway manager. Eastern Railway introduced the third class Janata Express in 1948 between Patna and Delhi and was extended to Howrah in 1949.

Patna Junction and Rajendra Nagar Terminal route relay interlocking system was commissioned in February 2012. The computerized control of change of tracks has improved safety.

Major Facilities at Patna Junction –

The major facilities available at Patna Junction Railway Station include retiring rooms, waiting rooms, computerized reservation, unreserved tickets counters, and parking for vehicles.   The junction also has vegetarian and non-vegetarian refreshment rooms, tea stalls, post and telegraphic office, book stall, and government railway police office. The junction has a foreign tourist ticket counter.

A call centre was set up in 2005 to modernize the train inquiry system. Biharis can now dial 139 to inquire about the arrival and departure of trains, reservation status, fare, and concessions. Automatic ticket vending machines help to reduce the queues for train tickets. A departmental catering unit of the Danapur division functions from Patna Junction. Escalator services were introduced on platform number 10 of Patna Junction in 2014. The facility will be extended to platform number 1 soon.

The significant offices accessible are Waiting rooms separate for male and females, online Reservation Counter, enquiry counter, train information display board, parking facilities and so on. There are vegetarian and non-vegetarian food stalls are also available for travelers, tea outlets, books stalls, railway police office, facility of online food service in train. Patna station is positioned nearby bus stoppage, transport facilities easily available for visiting any parts of Bihar and local airport terminal is also located at short distance.

• Patna Metro –

The construction work on the Patna Metro began after it was cleared by the Planning Commission in 2011. Patna Metro Train Corporation will complete two routes in the first phase as a public-private partnership project by 2016. The first phase will have the Metro routes from Danapur to Mithapur Bypass Chowk, Patna Railway Station to proposed ISBT and Digha-High Court Link. The second phase will provide Metro services between Bypass Chowk Mithapur and Deedarganj via Transport Nagar.

• Rajendra Nagar Terminal –

Rajendra Nagar Terminal (station code RJPB) was opened in 2003 to decongest Patna Junction. New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Indore-Patna Express, Indore-Rajendra Nagar via Faizabad, Shramjeevi Express, and Sampoorna Kranti Express are among the pairs of trains that originate and terminate here.

Rajendra Nagar Terminal has a canteen on platform number 1. Vegetarian food packs are available at a reasonable price. Snacks counter serve samosas, tea, coffee and other fares on platform numbers 1, 2 and 3. Coolie and trolleys are available. The station has a ramp making it disabled friendly.

Major trains like Sampoorna Kranti, Rajdhani and Indore- Patna express, Shramjeevi express and some more that terminates and initiate from Rajendra Nagar station. The station also holds canteen facility, snacks outlets, tea- coffee stalls, trolleys and coolies are also there for assistance.

Luscious Food in the Patna –

Road side food is appreciating a revival in the city. In spite of having great and excellent qualityof restaurants and fast food stalls, public here have amazing craziness for roadside foods specially fast foods. Without any doubt, it is one of the best and least expensive approaches to appreciate the cooking of a specific group and thus the culture along with traditions of that area.

The typical north Indian street food like aloo tikki chaat, panipuri, Baati Chokha (litti), Chinese cuisine, South Indian meal, PaoBhaji, BhelPuri and so on. These amazing taste of food cooked here is all the demandable and favoritenot only to the visitors but also to localities. Other than this Biryani, jaleebis, Gulab Jamun and Kebabs are also very popular in the area, most of all the uniqueness of the city is the “Pink Tea”, awesome taste prepared with dry fruits and milk.

Trains Passing through Patna Railway Station (PNBE) –