Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa Loop
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The Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop is a railway line connecting
Barharwa Barharwa is a town with a Nagar panchayat in the Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahibganj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Barharwa is a nagar panchayat. ...
on the
Sahibganj loop The Sahibganj loop is a railway line connecting Khana Junction and Kiul Junction. Originally a part of the Howrah–Delhi main line, it was opened to traffic in 1866. With the construction of a shorter railway line for a part of the route, th ...
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 ...
. Together with the Bandel–Katwa line, which connects this line to Bandel Junction on the Howrah–Bardhaman main line, it is also known as the B.B Loop Line. This line is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway. The majority of this line passes through the
Purba Bardhaman Purba Bardhaman district is in the Indian state of 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 Suba ...
and Murshidabad districts, in the Indian state of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, and lies on the west bank of the
Bhagirathi The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu f ...
river.


History

In 1913, the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa Railway constructed the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop line. This line connected Barharwa Junction one the
Sahibganj loop The Sahibganj loop is a railway line connecting Khana Junction and Kiul Junction. Originally a part of the Howrah–Delhi main line, it was opened to traffic in 1866. With the construction of a shorter railway line for a part of the route, th ...
with the Katwa Junction in what was then the Hooghly–Katwa Railway.


Nalhati–Azimganj branch line

In 1863, the Indian Branch Railway Company, a private company constructed the Nalhati-Azimganj branch line. The line was long and was constructed with a unique rail gauge of . The Indian Branch Railway Company was purchased by the Government of India in 1872 and the line was renamed as the Nalhati State Railway and was converted into broad gauge. It became a part of the
East Indian Railway Company The East Indian Railway Company, operating as the East Indian Railway (reporting mark EIR), introduced railways to East India and North India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, South Indian Railway, Bombay, Barod ...
in 1892.


Connection with North Bengal

With the
partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
in 1947, the connection to North Bengal was lost since a major portion of the Calcutta-Siliguri line ran through
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
, now
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. To establish connectivity with North Bengal, a new line was built from Tildanga station in the B.B loop line to Farakka Ghat on the south bank of Ganges by 1958. A long wide
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 , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
new line was constructed from Khejuria Ghat (near present-day Chamagram station), on the north bank of the
Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...
to Malda Town by 1959 and was further extended to meet Barsoi junction by 1962. Steamer services connected the north and south banks of the river thereby linking North & South Bengal. The long Farakka Barrage, which carries a rail-cum-road bridge across the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
was opened in 1971 thereby directly linking the B.B loop line to Malda Town, New Jalpaiguri and other railway stations in North Bengal.


Connection with Murshidabad

While most of the line runs along the West bank of the
Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu f ...
, the district headquarters of
Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...
and the major towns of
Berhampore Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest city ...
and
Jiaganj Jiaganj Azimganj is a city and a municipality in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location The two towns of Jiaganj and Azimganj are located on either side of the Baghirathi River, Jiaganj (Ziaganj) on the e ...
are located on the East bank of the Bhagirathi river on the Seladah-Lalgola line. A railway bridge was constructed as a part of a line from Nashipur Road to Azimganj for stone traffic in 1928 which connected both the banks. This bridge however was destroyed in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. This has led to connectivity problems and as a result the Nashipur Rail Bridge was constructed. However since approach roads couldn't be built due to land acquisition problems and local protests, the tracks leading to the bridge couldn't be constructed because of which the connection to
Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...
still lies incomplete. Once completed
Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
plans to use it for the North bound trains from
Sealdah Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Etymology Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata ...
like
Darjeeling Mail The 12343 / 12344 Darjeeling Mail is one of the oldest running legendary trains in India which connects Kolkata with New Jalpaiguri via Barddhaman, Malda Town and Kishanganj. This is a major train for Kolkata–Siliguri route. It is also t ...
as it provides a shorter route leading to significant savings in cost and time.


Electrification

The electrification of the stretch from Katwa to Nimtita and from Nalhati to Azimganj was completed on 04 February 2021. Its completion marked the 100% electrification of the entire
Eastern Railway zone The Eastern Railway (abbreviated ER) is among the 19 Indian Railways Zones and Divisions, zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place (Kolkata) and comprises four divisions: , , , and . Each division is headed by a Divis ...
of the
Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
.


References


External links


Trains at Azimganj
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barharwa-Azimganj-Katwa loop 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in West Bengal Railway loop lines Murshidabad district