Nalanda railway station (station code: NLD), is a railway station and under Danapur railway division of East Central Railway. Nalanda is connected to metropolitan areas of India, by the Delhi–Kolkata main line via Mugalsarai–Patna route. Station is located in Nalanda city in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. Due to its location on the Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya main line many Patna and other cities via Express trains coming from and stop here. It has two platforms. However, the station was news in December 2024 for allegedly lacking basic facilities.
History Nalanda city has incredible history from the past. Mainly because Nalanda university was one of the oldest university of the world and was a very important center of the world for higher education. Founded in 427 CE, the monastic university predates the University of Oxford and Europe's oldest university, Bologna, by more than 500 years. It was home to nine million books and attracted 10,000 students from around the world. Many student from across the world used to come here to get quality education. Surjarpur(sun temple) and kundalpur(Birth place of Lord mahavira) are the place in city which is important pilgrim centre of Hindus and Jain respectively. In the 1190s, the university was destroyed by a marauding troop of invaders led by Turko-Afghan military general Bakhtiyar Khilji, who sought to extinguish the Buddhist centre of knowledge during his conquest of northern and eastern India. The archaeological remains of Nalanda arenow a Unesco World Heritage site. Good schools and colleges are available in city.
Location
As Nalanda a historical and Buddhist & Jainism pilgrims center. City well connected by rail and road network. It's 85 km southeast from Patna and (80 km) northeast of Gaya, India, (20 km) from Pawapuri and 105 km from Vaishali (ancient city) .
Important trains These important trains pass through the station.
Mahaparinirvan Express The Buddhist Circuit Train which is popularly known as Mahaparinirvan Express is a tourist train, which was launched by IRCTC on March 28, 2007, to attract Buddhist pilgrims. Connects Rajgir, Nalanda, Patliputra, Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Vaishali (ancient city), Kushinagar etc. Shramjeevi Express connects Rajgir, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow and New Delhi. Budhpurnima Express Also a Buddhist special train runs between Rajgir to Varanasi vai Patna and Gaya, India. Rajgriha Intercity Express runs between Rajgir and Danapur via Harnaut, Patna City. Howrah–Rajgir Janta Express connects Rajgir to Howrah via Asansol Jhajha Bakhtiyarpur. Howrah–Rajgir Fast Passenger to Howrah Junction from Rajgir railway station via Bakhtiyarpur Junction, Kiul railway station, Bhagalpur railway station, Barddhaman.
Nearest airport Nearest airports are: Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna Gaya Airport
See also
Nalanda
References