From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, to Siliguri was in two laps.

The first lap was a 185 km journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River, then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey.

A 336 km metre gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.

The Kolkata-Siliguri main line was converted to broad gauge in stages.

Consequent to the construction of the 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) long Bangabandhu Bridge in 1998, there was reassessment of the requirements of the railways.