Howrah Division Celebrates 100 Years of Service: Special Event Organized
Dubela, Chhoyee Ghosh: The Howrah division of the Eastern Railways celebrated its centenary on 15th May 2025. They organized a special event at platform 9 of the Howrah Station and also added a themed WAP7 electric locomotive to the most popular Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in order to honour and celebrate 100 glorious years of relentless service.
The special event was attended by the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Howrah and other senior officers. The centre of attraction of course was the specially themed WAP7 electric locomotive number 37357, which was made in the Electric Loco Shed Howrah. It has a speed of 140 kmph and a continuous power rating of 6350 horsepower. The electric locomotive was beautifully decorated with illustrated motifs depicting iconic moments that took place in the hundred years history of Howrah division. Few of the illustrated motifs were a tribute to our beloved Rabindranath Tagore’s travel in an Eastern Railway first-class coach, the majestic facade of Howrah Station, the historic station clock, the Jubilee Bridge, semaphore signals from the Katwa section, a nostalgic scene of a steam locomotive and EMU side by side and the flagging off of India’s first Rajdhani Express in 1969.
The Howrah division of the Eastern Railways was formed in 1925, when the then British government in India took over the Eastern India Railway (EIR) and organized it on a divisional basis. The Eastern Railway is celebrating both the centenary of the division and the 171st anniversary of the first train run from Howrah. Originally the Howrah Station was a site of an orphanage run by the Portuguese Dominican missionaries in the early 19th century but later the land was acquired by the East Indian Railway (EIR) company and they started the Howrah station which went on to become the busiest station in India.
The special event and the themed electric locomotive were organized to honour the Legacy of Howrah Station and also to celebrate the continuous service of the Howrah division of the Eastern Railways in India.
