The Bardhaman–Katwa line is a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

branch line connecting

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...

and

Katwa Katwa is a sub-divisional town and railway junction in Purba Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Katwa subdivision. The town was built at the confluence of Ganga and Ajay. Katwa is a border cit ...

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. It is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway. The line was a narrow gauge line, before its gauge conversion began on 2010. The gauge conversion was done in two phases along with electrification and the full broad gauge line was thrown open for public again on 12 January 2018.

History

McLeod's Light Railways

McLeod's Light Railways (MLR) consisted of four

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

lines in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The railways were built and owned by McLeod & Company, which was the subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd. Burdwan-Katwa Railway connecting

(earlier known as Burdwan) and

in now

was opened to traffic on 1 December 1915. The railway was built in gauge and total length was . The engines chugged along at the maximum speed of 30 km per hour.

Gauge Conversion

The 53 km long railway section was converted to

, work for which began on 15 April 2010. The Bardhaman-Balogna section of the line, after conversion from narrow gauge to electrified broad gauge, was opened to the public on 11 February 2014. The Balogna-Katwa section of the line, after conversion from narrow gauge to electrified broad gauge, was opened to the public on 12 January 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bardhaman - Katwa line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in West Bengal * Transport in Asansol * Transport in Purba Bardhaman district