Patna Junction railway station was opened in 1862 as Bankipore Junction in Bankipore town, headquarters of the division and Patna district in Bengal, British India. The construction of railway line through Patna was started in 1855 and was completed and opened in 1862. Prior to that the transport of raw materials and finished goods was done through the river transport on Ganga river. There are two branch lines one is in the western zone that connects Patna junction railway station with Digha Ghat and the other is in the eastern zone connecting the Patna City railway station with Patna Ghat. The Danapur Division came into existence on 1 January 1925. The present Divisional Railway Managers's office building was built in 1929. In 1948 Eastern Railway started an exclusively third class express train known as 'Janta Express' on 1 October 1948. This initially ran between Patna and Delhi and later on was extended from Delhi up to Howrah in 1949. This was the first Janta Express train in India. At the Rajendra Nagar Terminal and Patna Junction route relay interlocking system were installed between 7 February 2012 till 12 February. The presence of RRI system allows computer operated change of tracks for running trains. The presence of RRT system improves the safety of the railway traffic in the region.
Bridge
In 2009, the construction of Digha–Sonpur Bridge, was underway on the banks on the Ganges nearby, connected Patna to Pahleja Ghat. The railway part of bridge was opened to rail traffic from 3 February 2016 and railway started passenger service from Patliputra Junction to various railway stations on north side of Ganges in Bihar.
Facilities
The major facilities are Mechanised cleaning, free WiFi in entire patna junction, free RO mineral water, available are Waiting rooms, retiring room, computerised reservation facility, Reservation Counter, Vehicle parking etc. The vehicles are allowed to enter the station premises. There are refreshment rooms vegetarian and non-vegetarian, tea stall, book stall, post and telegraphic office and Government Railway police office. There is a special foreign tourist ticket counter at the first floor reservation office in the right hand wing of the railway station premises. Patna Junction is located close to the bus terminal and domestic airport providing transport to important destinations of Bihar. To modernise the train inquiry system a call centre has been opened at Patna in 2005. People from Bihar can inquire about arrival and departure of trains, reservation status, fare, concessions, etc., by dialling a universal telephone number 139 at local call rates. 200 to 500 lines are used in a call centre to ensure that the phone lines do not remain busy and a large number of people can access the facility of enquiry simultaneously. This facility was extended throughout India by the end of 2005–06 to get the desired train related information by dialling a universal number 139 at local call charges. Automatic ticket vending machines have been installed to reduce the queue for train tickets on the station. One of the two departmental catering units of Danapur division are located at Patna Junction, the other being at Kiul Junction. Patna Junction is going to have a Metro Station under Patna Metro.
Platforms
There are 10 platforms at Patna Junction. The platforms are interconnected with three foot over bridge. The Western Overbridge is called the Delhi end FOB and the easternmost FOB is called Kolkata end FOB.
Patna Junction is among the selected Railway Stations of India where Automated Escalators are being installed. Escalators are installed on Platform 10.
Trains
Patna Junction railway station is a major station of the East Central Railways. Its location on the Delhi Kolkata rail route, makes Patna Junction served by several express and superfast trains from all over the country. Several electrified local passenger trains also run from Patna to neighbouring destinations on frequent intervals.
