KharagpurThe railway town with the world’s longest platform — IIT Kharagpur’s Hijli campus and the SER workshop yards
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Kharagpur in one minute
Kharagpur — live weather, population, hidden places and cost of living, auto-updated.
Kharagpur runs on rails and research — Kharagpur Junction holds one of the world’s longest railway platforms at about 1,072 metres, the South Eastern Railway’s workshop town spreading around it. And in 1951 the country’s first Indian Institute of Technology rose here — IIT Kharagpur, on the old Hijli detention-camp ground, whose shahid halls the campus still keeps. Census 2011 counted about 2.5 lakh across the town-and-railway belts.
The town keeps its twin rhythms — the railway settlement’s quarter life and the campus’s tech-fest winters — while the laterite-red countryside of Paschim Medinipur, the Hijli mosque’s coastal air and the Midnapore orbit fill the weekends.
Fast facts
| Status | Municipality — railway town |
| District | Paschim Medinipur |
| Campus | IIT Kharagpur (1951) — first IIT |
| District population (2011) | 43,07,158 (pre-split) |
| City population (2011) | ~2,53,221 (town+railway band) |
| Elevation | ≈29 m — laterite plain |
| Rail icon | KGP platform ~1,072 m — world’s longest |
| Languages | Bengali · Hindi · English |
| Main station | Kharagpur Jn (KGP) — SER junction |
| Heritage | Hijli detention camp — shahid bhavan |
| Nearest airport | Kolkata (CCU) — ~130 km |
| Campus life | IIT-KGP — Spring Fest & tech-fest winters |
| District literacy | 78.0% (2011, Paschim Medinipur) |
| Famous for | IIT · Longest platform · SER workshops |
City map
Demographics CENSUS 2011
Last official census — 2021 census deferred, estimates update on release.
2,53,221 residents
per 1,000 males
municipal area (2011)
≈27,854 children (est.)
🌟 Hidden & heritage places
Kharagpur beyond the postcards — quiet places and lanes most guides skip.
IIT Kharagpur campus
The 1951 founding campus — the Hijli-era halls, the sandstone main building and the tech-fest winters of the KGP lore.
Directions ↗Kharagpur Junction (KGP)
The 1,072-metre platform — the SER junction yards, the railway-chai mornings and the 1072-m walk between coaches.
Directions ↗Hijli Shahid Bhavan
The colonial detention-camp legacy — the shahid museum, the Hijli mosque’s coastal air and the campus-edge memory.
Directions ↗SER workshop & settlement
The railway-town life — the workshop sheds, the railway quarters and the colony-bazaar rows.
Directions ↗Malancha & Sarberia shrines
The old-town shrines — the Durga-temple weeks and the pond-side rituals of the municipality belt.
Directions ↗Laterite-red village roads
The Medinipur belt — the sal-and-eucalyptus verges, the haat mornings and the bicycle-gold evenings.
Directions ↗Weekend getaways
Approximate road distances from Kharagpur.
Cost of living
Indicative monthly estimates for a single person — verify locally before deciding.
| 1 BHK rent (city) | ₹3,000 – 6,000 / mo |
| 2 BHK rent (city) | ₹6,000 – 11,000 / mo |
| Meal at a local eatery | ₹70 – 150 |
| Groceries (single, month) | ₹3,500 – 5,500 |
| Utilities (basic) | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Monthly total (est.) | ₹10,000 – 17,000 |
Estimates only · tier-3 railway-education town · updated with market data over time
Top industries
What actually runs Kharagpur.
IIT Kharagpur orbit
The institute economy — the campus faculties, the research parks and the student-city services.
Education ↗KGP junction & SER workshops
The rail economy — the workshop sheds, the wagon-repair lines and the junction-city services.
Rail hub ↗Paddy & laterite farm trades
The farm belt — the aman-paddy trades, the betel-leaf (Bhogdanga) yards and the village haats.
Agro ↗Small-engineering & fabrication
The town industry — fabrication yards, repair shops and the railway-vendor units.
Engineering ↗Freight & warehouse desks
The junction-logistics economy — cargo yards and the NH-6 belt warehouses.
Logistics ↗Gole Bazaar & settlement markets
The town commerce — the Gole Bazaar rows, the railway-settlement stores and the weekly haats.
Retail ↗Campus-visitor services
The visitor economy — the guest houses, the coaching hubs and the conference services of the campus belt.
Hospitality ↗Top restaurants & food
Where locals actually eat — local counters, classics and street institutions.
Gole Bazaar food rows
The town food line — puchka carts, chop-counter fries and the jhal-muri cones.
Directions ↗Bhaat-machh thali houses
The rice-and-fish kitchens — shorshe-ilish plates, aloo-bhate bowls and the mishti endings.
Directions ↗Station-road grill rooms
The grill streets — chicken-curry pots, mutton-biryani plates and the firni bowls.
Directions ↗Mishti & nolen-gur houses
The sweet belt — roshogolla tins, nolen-gur sandesh and the winter gur season.
Directions ↗Campus-gate cafe strip
The student cafe mile — coffee roasts, momo stands and the evening crowds.
Directions ↗Style-verified from local guides · Sep 2026 · hours change — call ahead
Markets & shopping
Gole Bazaar & station market
The old-market pair — the town’s Gole Bazaar rows and the station-side trade halls.
Directions ↗Malancha & settlement stores
The neighbourhood retail — the railway-settlement shops and the campus-belt counters.
Directions ↗Village haats & Betel yards
The rural markets — the leaf-trade yards, the vegetable rows and the haat mornings.
Directions ↗Festival & fair calendar
Durga Puja
The town’s biggest festival — the Gole Bazaar pandals, the dhak nights and the immersion processions.
IIT Spring Fest & KGP winters
The campus festival weeks — the Spring Fest stages, the tech-fest mornings and the alumni returns.
Diwali & Kali Puja
The lamp festival — the settlement lightings and the Kalibari crowds.
Saraswati Puja
The student festival — the chalk-floor pandals and the khichuri bhog of the college rows.
October – February
The laterite winter — campus visits, beach runs and the food streets.
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FAQ
What is Kharagpur famous for?
IIT Kharagpur — the first IIT of India (1951) — and Kharagpur Junction’s ~1,072-metre platform, among the world’s longest, beside the SER workshop town.
What is the population of Kharagpur?
Census 2011: about 2,53,221 across the town-and-railway belts (municipality core ~94,599, pending reconciliation); UA ~3,00,000; Paschim Medinipur 43,07,158 pre-split.
What is the pincode of Kharagpur?
The town starts at 721301; Kharagpur spans 721301–721351 across the settlement, Hijli and the campus belt.
Which places should I visit there?
The KGP platform walk, the Hijli Shahid Bhavan and the IIT campus — with Digha’s beaches and Jhargram’s forests as the weekend runs.