It is situated at the eastern side of the city with railway owned colonies which is home for working staffs.

Purulia railway station is presently a three-way junction point having direct connection to Asansol/Adra, Muri/Bokaro/Ranchi and Tatanagar/Chakradharpur.

12828 Purulia–Howrah Superfast Express is the most important and oldest train of the whole region that connects to Kolkata.

22605 Purulia–Villupuram Weekly Superfast Express is another important train connecting to Vellore that originates from here.

The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah–Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad.