Darshana–Jessore–Khulna line is a
broad-gauge railway of
Bangladesh Railway. The line is maintained and operated by
West Zone
The West Zone cricket team is a first-class cricket team that represents western India in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. It is a composite team of players from five first-class Indian teams from western India competing in the Ranji Trophy: ...
.
History
The
British Indian government constructed the
Chilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana line
The Chilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana line is a railway line connecting Chilahati and Darshana, via Parbatipur Junction, Santahar, Abdulpur, Azim Nagar station (in Gopālpur, Lalpur Upazila), Iswardi and Hardinge Bridge in Banglade ...
in 1878 and the Kolkata–Jessore to Khulna line in 1878 to start a direct service from
Calcutta to
Siliguri. But after the
partition of the country in 1947, the railway communication between the two countries was cut off. The direct rail link between
Khulna
Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...
in then
East Pakistan and
North Bengal
North Bengal ( bn, উত্তরবঙ্গ/উত্তর বাংলা) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Gen ...
was disrupted. So very quickly the then
provincial government quickly laid a new railway line from
Darshana Junction to
Jessore Junction by 1951.
Sections
Jessore–Benapole section
This section stretches from Jessore Junction via
Benapole–Petrapole to
Dum Dum Junction.
Benapole Express,
Bandhan Express, Benapole Commuter, Khulna Commuter and freight trains ply through this route.
Khulna–Mongla section
Khulna–Mongla Port line is being constructed to connect
Port of Mongla with rail across the country. It will be a 65 km long broad gauge railway.
Rupsha Rail Bridge is part of this route.
Rupsha–Bagerhat section
Rupsha–Bagerhat line is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge line that served as a link between Rupsha and
Bagerhat
Bagerhat Sadar ( bn, বাগেরহাট সদর) is an upazila of Bagerhat District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. The municipality was established in 1958. It consists of 9 wards and 31 mahallas.
History
Khan Jahan Ali established ...
. The railway line was constructed in 1918 and was declared abandoned in 1998.
The 20-mile (32 km) long railroad carried 13 coaches and 8 freight cars in 1958.
[Hughes, Hugh 1994 ''Indian Locomotives Pt. 3, Narrow Gauge 1863-1940''. Continental Railway Circle.]
References
5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Bangladesh
Railway lines opened in 1884
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darshana-Jessore-Khulna line