Rourkela Junction railway station (station code:- ROU) is a railway junction located in the north-western part of the Indian state of Odisha and serves Rourkela in Sundergarh district. Rourkela is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Odisha.

History

Rourkela railway station came up with the opening of the Nagpur–Asansol main line of Bengal Nagpur Railway in 1891. It became a station on the crosscountry Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line in 1900. Rourkela was connected to Barsuan iron ore mines in 1960. In earlier days the railway station of Rourkela was within the village of Mahulpali. The railway station gained in importance with the setting up of India's first public sector steel plant at Rourkela in the nineteen fifties. It was electrified in 1961–62.

Busy station

Rourkela railway station is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway. 11 trains originate at Rourkela and 111 trains(including weeklies and bi-weeklies) pass through it. It is situated on the Kolkata–Mumbai South Eastern railway line which is a major route connecting the two metros of India. Rourkela is connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Asansol, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Patna, Vishakhapatnam, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Jammu & Kashmir and Ranchi.

Bimlagarh–Talcher project

The 156 km (97 mi) long line connecting Bimlagarh on the Bondamunda–Barsuan branch line and Talcher on the Sambalpur–Talcher–Barang branch line, was sanctioned in 2004–05 and construction is in progress. This line when complete would reduce the distance between Rourkela and Bhubaneswar, the state capital, from 460 km (via Sambalpur) to 300 km.

Electric Loco Shed, Rourkela

Electric Loco Shed, Rourkela is the 3rd electric loco shed of Chakradharpur Division, South Eastern Railway.It has Holding Capacity of 200 Electric locomotives.

SN	Locomotives	HP	Quantity
1.	WAG-9	6120	222
Total Locomotives Active as of July 2024			222