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The Howrah–Barddhaman main line is a broad-gauge railway line connecting
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
and
Barddhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and 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 a ...
via
Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...
. The railway line operates in
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
, Hooghly and Purba Barddhaman 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 ...
. It is part of the Howrah–Delhi main line and the
Kolkata Suburban Railway The Kolkata Suburban Railway (colloquially called Kolkata local trains or simply locals) is a suburban rail, suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. Its network has 45 ...
system.


History

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 ...
which was formed on 1 June 1845, planned to construct a line from Howrah to Delhi. After surveys, construction began in 1851. Howrah station was a tin shed and to reach it from Kolkata one had to cross the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
in a ferry. On 15 August 1854, the first passenger train in the eastern section was operated up to Hooghly railway station, away. On 1 February 1855 the first train ran from Howrah to Raniganj, from Howrah.


Access to Howrah station

A pontoon bridge was built across the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
in 1874 to provide easy access to Howrah Station, and in 1943 the cantilever
Howrah Bridge The Howrah Bridge is a balanced steel bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the both ...
, later renamed Rabindra Setu, was built.


Other routes

The Sheoraphuli–Tarakeswar branch line was constructed in 1885, and the Howrah–Barddhaman chord line, a shorter link to Barddhaman, was constructed in 1917. (See route diagram for Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar Line with this page also). With the construction of the Jubilee Bridge in 1887 across the Hooghly, railway lines on the eastern side of the Hooghly were linked to the main line at
Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...
. In 1932, the Calcutta chord line was built over the Willingdon Bridge joining
Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Author ...
with Dankuni. In 1913, the Hooghly–Katwa Railway constructed a line from
Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...
to Katwa, and the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa Railway constructed the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop.(See route diagram for the Bandel–Katwa line with this page). The railway track was extended to
Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Bel ...
in 2003. In 2021, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
inaugurated the third line between Rasulpur and Magra of this route to reduce the congestion of the trains in this route.


Electrification

Electrification of the Howrah–Barddhaman main line was initiated up to Bandel in 1957, with the 3000 v DC system, and the entire Howrah–Barddhaman route completed with AC system, along with conversion of earlier DC portions to 25 kV AC, in 1958.


Tracks

There are 5 tracks between
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
and Bally, 3 tracks between Bally and
Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...
, 4 tracks between
Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...
and , 3 tracks between Seoraphuli Junction and and 3 tracks between and and from Saktigarh up to
Barddhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and 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 a ...
Junction 4 tracks. This line uses automatic block signalling


Loco and car sheds

Howrah has a diesel and an electric loco shed. Both of them rank among the largest in India. The diesel loco shed houses WDM-2, WDM-3(A, B and D), WDP-4D and WDS-6 locos. Some WDS-4 are also occasionally seen shunting alongside the regular WDS-6 ones. The electric loco shed houses WAP-4 and WAP-7 locos. Commissioned in 2001, it is one of the largest WAP-4 sheds in Indian Railways. There used to be a time when, 60% of the shed was occupied by WAP-4 alone. It is also growing in stature as it can also now handle large no. of locos of one of the premier passenger WORKHORSE locos of India...i.e.WAP-7.it currently holds ownership of more than 30+ WAP-7 locos. It has facilities for handling 100+ locos. Some of these, like WAM-4 and WAG-5 are borrowed in temporarily from the Asansol electric loco shed, The main hub for handling WAM and WAG types (except WAG-9., whose ownership resides with Howrah shed ). The Howrah electric loco shed has a very detailed planning of the infrastructure that allows it to hold and maintain its own locos as well as locos from other sheds. There is a diesel loco shed at Bamangachi with WDM-2(not more than 7 generally ), WDS-4 and WDS-6(some of them being diesel hydraulic shunters). Barddhaman has a diesel loco shed with WDG-3(A and B), WDM-6(generally a couple of them), WDM-2 and WDM-3(A, B, D) locos. It can handle 35+ locos. There is a diesel loco shed at Liluah and an
Electrical multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
(EMU) car shed at Howrah and
Bandel Bandel is a city in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by ...
. Liluah Carriage & Wagon Workshop maintains coaches and freight wagons. Tikiapara Coaching Depot maintains 22 primary base trains and 6 round trip trains. Total coach holding capacity is 744 coaches. It handles prestigious trains like Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express. The Coaching Depot is under Howrah Division, Eastern Railway. Barddhaman Coaching & Wagon Depot can maintain four passenger trains, including one DEMU rake. It has a capacity of holding 71 coaches.


Speed limits

The Howrah–Barddhaman main line is classified as 'B' class line where trains can run at up to 130 km per hour .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howrah - Barddhaman main line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Main railway lines of India * Transport in Purba Bardhaman district