There are 8 types of railway station in Indian Railways
Main Railway Station:- Junction, Central and Terminal/Terminus
Station, Cantonment Station
Small Railway Station:- Halt station, Road Station and P.H Station
⭐Comparison between Junction, Central and Terminal Station
Junction is a station where several lines meet together or where one can go towards different direction as per their wish, Junction should be have atleast 3 -4 railway line.
Whereas Central is a station, main, busiest, and often oldest passenger hub in a major city, typically featuring multiple platforms and serving as a key center for, commuter and long-distance trains. Located near the city center, sometimes Central station can be Terminal or Line continues beyond the distance.
Example Trivandrum Central and Kanpur Central
Dead End line Central like MGR Chennai Central and Mumbai Central
Terminal Station or Terminus is a railway station where several lines end. Trains arriving there have to end their journeys (terminate) or reverse out of the station.
Example:- Kanyakumari, Bandra Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Cochin Harbour Terminus.
Location:-Junction are situated at Major Town, District, Central Station are located within City whereas Terminal Station locates at Coastal Area, or where there is no land.
In terms of busiest there is no fixed number which one is busier, crowd depends upon traffic and importance, not category name
But Approximately Junctions are among the busiest (due to multiple routes)
Exceptions- Few Junction station can also be classified as Terminal Station like Howrah Junction it serves as a central hub where multiple major railway lines diverge and converge, and no other station should appears before diverging the lines
Chennai Central and Mumbai Central are also a terminal Station where track end but got Central name because They are the main station for the city and are usually located in the city's, well, center.
When compared To Howrah Junction, if we see Before the Chennai Central station, one small station comes where several lines diverge Basin Bridge Junction, otherwise Chennai Central would be known as MGR Chennai Terminus.
Many Terminal Station Railway lines end due to coastal area or space constraints, but some terminals exist temporarily despite available space, such as Sai Nagar Shirdi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station, Intially Long distance train terminates at Katra, but later it extended towards Srinagar.
⭐Comparison between Halt Station, Road Station and P.H Station
Halt station is a small station, unstaffed, designed for passenger boarding/deboarding, typically in rural areas, sometimes Express train also halt during Emergency time.
They feature a basic ground-level platform with no signaling, yards, or station buildings, where only passenger, MEMU, or DEMU trains stop for 1-2 minutes.
Example:- Haldia Bihar Halt, Chaidhabanni Halt, Bishnupriya Halt and Soldevanahalli Halt in Karnataka
Whereas A "Road" railway station (e.g., Nasik Road, Abu Road and Kodaikanal Road indicates the station is located on the outskirts of a town or city, rather than within its main, central area.
PH Station ( Passenger Halt) is a station which is unstaffed or sometimes staff may be there, non big facilities, only for passengers facilities, railway station made.
PH station is just a more organized version of a Halt station
It's a D class station.
Example:-Patia P.H, Dulakhapatana P.H, and Dugda P.H
Location:- Halt station is mostly near to the town when compared to Road Station.
To reach Road Station, passengers must take Bus or Taxi to the railway station road connection to travel from the actual town center to the closest railhead.
These railway station are built to provide Town Connectivity or due to land acquisition issue, or unable to build railway station near the town, these railway station sometimes can reduce the crowd parallel to road especially peak time, passing nearby instead of through the town.
The distance between the "Road" station and the town center can vary, around 2–6 kilometers,
⭐Comparison between Station and Cantonment Station
Station
Normal Railway Station is a station designated facility where trains stop to load/unload passengers or freight. Its a passing station and railway line continue beyond the track.
Whereas Cantonment station is a station which is primarily a hub for Defence area station located near a dedicated military base, established to serve the logistical needs of the Army.
Example:- Bengaluru Cantonment, Firozpur Cantonment, Ambala Cantonment and Pathankot Cantonment.
Station and Cantonment Railway Station are mostly 2 way line, no dead end terminal, where several trains passes, stops for few minutes.