The Howrah–Barddhaman main line is a broad-gauge railway line connecting Howrah and Barddhaman via Bandel. The 107 kilometres (66 mi) railway line operates in Howrah, Hooghly and Purba Barddhaman districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of the Howrah–Delhi main line and the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.

The East Indian Railway Company which was formed on 1 June 1845, planned to construct a line from Howrah to Delhi. After surveys, construction began in 1851.

Howrah station was a tin shed and to reach it from Kolkata one had to cross the Hooghly River in a ferry. On 15 August 1854, the first passenger train in the eastern section was operated up to Hooghly railway station, 39 kilometres (24 mi) away. On 1 February 1855 the first train ran from Howrah to Raniganj, 195 kilometres (121 mi) from Howrah.

A pontoon bridge was built across the Hooghly River in 1874 to provide easy access to Howrah Station, and in 1943 the cantilever Howrah Bridge, later renamed Rabindra Setu, was built.

The Sheoraphuli–Tarakeswar branch line was constructed in 1885, and the Howrah–Barddhaman chord line, a shorter link to Barddhaman, was constructed in 1917. (See route diagram for Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar Line with this page also).

With the construction of the Jubilee Bridge in 1887 across the Hooghly, railway lines on the eastern side of the Hooghly were linked to the main line at Bandel. In 1932, the Calcutta chord line was built over the Willingdon Bridge joining Dum Dum with Dankuni.

In 1913, the Hooghly–Katwa Railway constructed a line from Bandel to Katwa, and the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa Railway constructed the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop.(See route diagram for the Bandel–Katwa line with this page).

The railway track was extended to Belur Math in 2003.