IIT Kharagpur was established in 1951. It is situated about 120 km west of Calcutta, Kharagpur can be reached in about 2.5 hrs from the Howrah railway station of Calcutta. Kharagpur is also connected by direct train services to most major cities of the country. The Institute is about 10 minutes drive (5km) from the Kharagpur railway station. Private taxi, autorickshaw or cycle rickshaw can be hired to reach the Institute. IIT Kharagpur has 19 academic departments, eight multi-disciplinary centres/schools, and 13 schools of excellence in addition to laboratories and central research facilities. Apart from the main building in the central academic complex, the Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex also has common academic facilities. In the S. R. Complex, the Takshashila building houses the G. S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication, the School of Information Technology and the Computer and Informatics Centre; and has facilities for conducting lecture classes as well. Vikramshila is another academic building in the S. R. Complex, having four lecture halls, several seminar rooms, and Kalidas Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of 850.[23] The School of Medical Science and Technology is housed in the basement of the Vikramshila building. IIT Kharagpur has been ranked the best engineering college by Outlook magazine in 2009 and 2010. IIT Kharagpur has been ranked amongst the top engineering colleges in India by education surveys.
