While travelling by railways and boarding trains from different stations, it is possible that you might have thought to yourself which station might be the smallest railway station ever.

To answer just that, here are all the details about the smallest railway station in India.

The first-ever Indian Railways train ran between Mumbai and Thane on April 16, 1853. Relentless growth from that day onwards has helped the railways expand throughout the nation. Today, the entire railway network spans over 67,000 km, and more than 22,000 trains run on these tracks every day.

Out of these, close to 13,000 locomotives are passenger trains and carry nearly 2.5 lakh travellers every day. As per a report shared by the Railways in 2020, information was revealed about close to 9,274 stations. According to this data, the smallest railway station in the entire nation is Odisha's Banspani Railway Station.

India's Smallest Railway Station

Banspani Railway Station is only 140 metres long and has a single platform. Only a few trains halt at this station, and most of the time it is used for commercial purposes, mainly for iron transit.

Railways in India originated during the British colonial period, with the first passenger train running on April 16, 1853, between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane, covering a distance of 34 kilometres. Introduced primarily to aid colonial administration, trade, and military movement, the railway network expanded rapidly across the subcontinent during the 19th century.