বাংলা 
English 
Ishwardi Railway Junction is a nearly hundred-year-old railway junction built in the British era, situated in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district of Bangladesh - the Ishwardi rail junction station and yard. It is the country's oldest and one of its largest railway stations and junctions. Ishwardi Railway Junction is located in Ishwardi pourashava (municipality) sadar.
In 1878, the Calcutta to Siliguri railway was divided into two parts. The first part was a 185 km journey along the East Bengal State Railway from Calcutta station (now Sealdah) to Damukdia Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma river, then crossing the river by ferry the second journey began. The 336-kilometre metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway connected Sara Ghat on the northern bank of the Padma with Siliguri. It was during this period that Ishwardi came into being as a railway station.
While the Hardinge Bridge was under construction, the Shakole-Santahar section was converted to broad gauge between 1910 and 1914. The Hardinge Bridge was opened in 1915. Ishwardi Railway Junction was established to establish communication between the northern and southern regions after the bridge was opened. A 2-kilometre-long yard and 17 railway lines were laid at the station.
As a consequence of the construction of the 4.8-kilometre (3-mile) long Bangabandhu Bridge in 1999, the requirements of the railway were redefined. Firstly, to connect the eastern part of the railway system with the western region, a new 99-kilometre (62-mile) long dual-gauge line was built from Joydebpur to Jamtoil. The problem of two different gauges in the two parts of the country was solved by introducing dual gauge. Secondly, the 245-kilometre (152-mile) long broad-gauge track from Jamtoil to Parbatipur was converted to dual gauge. At present 4 important railway lines are connected with Ishwardi. These are Ishwardi-Khulna, Ishwardi-Rajshahi, Ishwardi-Parbatipur and Ishwardi-Dhaka.
How to go:
From anywhere in Bangladesh one can go by rail to Ishwardi Railway Station, or alight at Ishwardi Bus Terminal 26 km from Pabna town and travel onwards by CNG or private transport.
