Arrah is the headquarters of Shahabad district. Arrah is served by a railway station of the Eastern Railway between Patna and Mughalsarai. Arrah is located at a distance of 36 miles from Patna, with which it is linked by an all-weather road from Sasaram, a sub-divisional headquarters of Shahabad district. Sasaram is 60 miles from Arrah and the Grand Trunk Road from Calcutta to Delhi runs via Sasaram. Arrah has also another excellent road running to Buxar, which is another sub-divisional headquarters of Shahabad at a distance of 42 miles from Arrah. The name Arrah is derived from the temple of Aranya Devi, which is located in the Chowk area. It is two miles from the railway station and about half a mile from the court buildings. Rickshaws, horse-drawn ekkas and carriages are available at Arrah railway station. Passenger buses from Patna to Varanasi run through Arrah.