Kharagpur  pronunciation  (Bengali: খড়গপুর) is an important industrial town in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is multi-cultural and cosmopolitan town. It is the most populated city of Paschim Medinipur district. The first Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), a group of Institutes of National Importance, was founded in Kharagpur as early as in May 1950. It is 116 km from Kolkata and forms an important station on Howrah-Mumbai, Howrah-Chennai road and railway route. This town also has one of the largest railway workshops in India, and the third longest railway platform in the world (1072.5 m). Kharagpur has an Air Force base in Kalaikunda, and another in Salua.