Elgin Bridge is a long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the

Ghaghra River Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...

located in

Barabanki district Barabanki district is one of the five Districts of Uttar Pradesh, districts of Faizabad division (officially ''Ayodhya division''), in the central Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barabanki city is the administrative headquarters of Barabank ...

. The bridge falls on the

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. The city is about 30 km east of Lucknow, the state capital. It has a population of 146,831 with a dens ...

- Gonda section of the

North Eastern Railway zone The North Eastern Railway (abbreviated NER) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways in India. It is headquartered at Gorakhpur. Zonal Rail Training Institute (ZRTI) is established in district Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. North Eastern ...

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

. The bridge is about from

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and stands at periodically changing confluence of two rivers i.e.

Sharda River The Sharda River, also called Kali River and Mahakali River, originates at Kalapani in the Himalayas at an elevation of in the Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows along Nepal's western border with India and has a basin area ...

and

Ghaghara River Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...

. The bridge was built on dry land and then the river was trained under it.

History & Details

The bridge construction started in 1894 & was completed in 1896. It was opened on 18 December 1896 having

Meter Gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

track with the opening of Jarwal Road - Behramghat section of the

Bengal and North Western Railway The Bengal and North Western Railway was owned and worked by the ''Bengal and North Western Railway Company'' (registered 23 October 1882, dissolved October 1946). The Bengal and North Western Railway was merged into the Oudh and Tirhut Railway ...

. The bridge is named after

Lord Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

(21 March 1862 – 20 November 1863). Before construction of Elgin Bridge and opening of railways between Gonda and Barabanki most of the trade was done by the river route, once the bridge was constructed the river trade decreased greatly. The bridge was closed for gauge conversion in 1987/88 and was later re-opened in 1989/90 with

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 ...

track. Another bridge was constructed and opened parallel to the Elgin Bridge on 2010/11 during the doubling of the

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

railway mainline.

Importance

The bridge is an important point of experiment, research and monitoring for irrigation and flood related activities. There is a flood water level recording and forecasting station at the Elgin Bridge which records rise and fall in the Ghaghra River.

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Ram Sanehi Ghat is threatened as soon as water crosses 347 ft mark at the Elgin Bridge.

Elgin-Charsari embankment

The Elgin-Charsari embankment is on the border of

with

Gonda district Gonda district (Hindi: गोण्डा/गोंडा, Urdu: گونڈہ) is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division. The t ...

in Uttar Pradesh. The Elgin Charsari embankment runs along the river Ghagra in Barabanki and Gonda districts. The embankment is 52 km long, it starts from Elgin Bridge at Barabanki to Charsari village which is in Gonda district. When the embankment breaches several villages of district Barabanki and district Gonda are affected badly. In 2010 the embankment faced breach at kilometer 15 in front of Parsawal village and due to breach approximately 150 villages and 2.5 lakhs people were affected in district Barabanki and Gonda.

References

{{reflist Railway bridges in Uttar Pradesh Transport in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh Bridges completed in 1896