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The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the
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 tota ...
. It is headquartered in
Maligaon The headquarters of Northeast Frontier Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway Stadium is situated here. The place is also known for goddess Durga pandals. There are several temples and places of worship in and around Maligaon. Hanuman Mandir, K ...
,
Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
in the state of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across Northeastern states and some districts of eastern
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and northern
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 fou ...
.


Divisions

Northeast Frontier Railway is divided into 5 divisions: * Katihar railway division *
Alipurduar railway division Alipurduar railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 15 January 1958 and its headquarter is located at Alipurduar in the state of West ...
*
Lumding railway division Lumding railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 1 May 1969 and its headquarter is located at Lumding in the state of Assam of India. Kat ...
* Rangiya railway division *
Tinsukia railway division Tinsukia railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 15 January 1958 and its headquarter is located at Tinsukia in the state of Assam of Ind ...
Each of these divisions is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager, a Senior Administrative Grade officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India. The departmental setup at headquarters level and divisional setup in the field assists the General Manager in running the railways. Various departments namely engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecom, operations, commercial, safety, accounts, security, personal and medical are headed by a Senior Administrative Grade / Higher Administrative Grade officer, provide technical and operational support to the divisions in train operations. Another division is being to be set up in Silchar by bifurcating Lumding division.


History

In 1881, the Assam Railway and Trading Company opened a metre gauge line long from
Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam i ...
to
Makum Makum (IPA: mɑːkəm) is a town and a town area committee in Tinsukia district in the Indian state of Assam. It should not be mistaken for Makum Pathar (the place near Digboi where, crude oil was first struck in Asia). It is the meeting point o ...
. This company later started the first passenger train in Assam by the name of
Dibru–Sadiya Railway Dibru–Sadiya Railway (DSR) ( as, ডিব্রু-শদিয়া ৰেলৱে) was one of the pioneering railway companies in British India and the first railway service of Assam in north-east India. History This metre-gauge rail ...
. The North Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating two railway systems: the Assam Railway and
Oudh and Tirhut Railway The Oudh and Tirhut Railway was a Railway company operated in India. History On 1 January 1943, the Bengal and North Western Railway and the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (R&K worked) were acquired by the Government of India and they were am ...
. Later, it was bifurcated into two railway zones on 15 January 1958, the North Eastern Railway and the Northeast Frontier Railway.Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-4 to better serve the needs of the northeastern states.


Operational area

The area of Northeast Frontier Railway operations is characterized by exceptional beauty and at the same time by some of the most arduous terrain. This difficult terrain limits the rail network expansion, and the only state with a decent rail network is Assam. The network is not
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 ( C ...
in many parts and the rail lines are antiquated with speeds at some sections being limited to a maximum of . Before the Saraighat Bridge was constructed, passengers had to get down on the
Amingaon Amingaon is a locality in North Guwahati. Amingaon is the district headquarter of Kamrup (Rural) district of Assam. It is also future hub of Assam with many mega projects due to massive expansion of Guwahati metropolitan city. Geography It is a ...
side of the
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
and take a ferry across to Pandu Junction from where they could resume their journey. The majority of the tracks have been converted to BG and electrification is in process starting from Katihar till Guwahati.


Major sections

A few of the major sections under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone are: * Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line * New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section *
New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
* Rangiya–Murkongselek section *
Guwahati–Lumding section The Guwahati–Lumding section is a broad-gauge railway line connecting and . The long railway line operates in the Indian state of Assam. It is under the jurisdiction of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. History In the pre-partition days, Assa ...
* Lumding–Dibrugarh section * Silchar–Sabroom section * Katihar–Siliguri section * Katihar–Jogbani branch line * Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line *
New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line The New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line is a railway line that connects - Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar and in the Indian state of West Bengal. This railway line passes through the beautiful Doars region, which includes Mah ...
* Barauni–Guwahati line


Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is maintained and governed under the responsibility of Katihar division. It ascends from New Jalpaiguri; the climb begins at Sukna, continues uninterruptedly to Ghum () and descends the final to
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...
. After independence, India's partition resulted in the isolation of the Northeast region. Consequently, the DHR was merged into Assam Railways, it was closed for the construction of the Assam–Bengal link line and one of its extension lines to Kishanganj was converted to
metre 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, ...
. DHR's other extension line to Kalimpong was washed away due to floods. On reopening, the DHR was merged with North Eastern Railway in 1952 and later into Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958. The DHR achieved worldwide fame for many reasons such as: * A gateway to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
* The tiny four-wheeled
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
s of the 19th century * The curves, loops, "Z"s and steep grades crisscrossing the road An interest in DHR all along has ensured that it continues to operate notwithstanding very heavy losses. The steam locomotive is an icon of this Railway. Tindharia workshop has kept 13 locomotives surviving, some of which are over 100 years old and the youngest is about 70 years old. Timeline of DHR: * 20 January 1948: Purchased by the Government of India * 26 January 1948: Transferred to Assam Rail Link * 26 January 1950: Transferred to Assam Railway * 14 January 1952: Transferred to North Eastern Railway * 15 January 1958: Transferred to Northeast Frontier Railway


Major Trains

*
Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express ''Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express'' is one of the premier train in the exclusive fleet of Rajdhani Expresses of Indian Railways. It connects in Delhi and in Assam. History * The first version of this train was inaugurated on 26 October 1996 as G ...
* Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express *
Avadh Assam Express The 15909 / 15910 ''Avadh Assam Express'' is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways – Northeast Frontier Railway zone that runs between Dibrugarh railway station of Dibrugarh, Assam and Lalgarh Junction of Bikaner, Rajasthan in Ind ...
* Agartala Rajdhani Express * Bangalore Humsafar Express * Agartala - Firozpur Tripura Sundari Express * Aronai Superfast Express * Dibrugarh-Chandigarh Express * Dibrugarh-Amritsar Express * Dwarka Express *
Amarnath Express The 15653 / 54 Guwahati–Jammu Tawi Amarnath Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways - Northeast Frontier Railway zone that runs between Guwahati and Jammu Tawi in India. It operates as train number 15653 from Guwahati to J ...
* Kamakhya–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express * Kamakhya - Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Karmabhoomi Express * Kamakhya - Udaipur City Kavi Guru Express * Kamakhya - Dr. Ambedkar Nagar Express * Kamakhya–Gandhidham Superfast Express * Dibrugarh– Chennai Tambaram Express * Dibrugarh - Mumbai LTT Express


Loco sheds

* Diesel Loco Shed, Siliguri * Diesel & Electric Loco Shed, Malda Town * Diesel Loco Shed, New Guwahati * Diesel Loco Shed, Mariani


Sicklines & Pitlines

* Dibrugarh Coaching Depot, Dibrugarh * Pitline, Dibrugarh * N.F.Railway Mechanical Workshop, Dibrugarh * Coach Maintenance Depot/Sickline, Guwahati * Pitline, Guwahati * Pitline, New Guwahati * New Bongaigaon Carriage & Wagon Workshop, New Bongaigaon * Coach Maintenance Depot, Kamakhya * Automatic Coach Washing Pitline, Kamakhya * Silchar Coaching Depot, Silchar * Pitline, Silchar * DEMU cum Sick Shed, Agartala * Pitline, Agartala * Routine Overhaul(ROH) Depot, New Tinsukia * Tinsukia Carriage Depot, Tinsukia


Major stations

These are the major railway station which have large numbers of passenger frequencies and stoppages of trains in the zone. {, {, class="wikitable" , + List of major railway stations in Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways , - ! Sl. No. !! Name of station !! Station code !! Division , - , 1 , , , , GHY , , Lumding , - , 2 , , , , DBRG , , Tinsukia , - , 4 , , , , RNY , , Rangiya , - , 5 , , , , KYQ , , Lumding , - , 7 , , , , LMG , , Lumding , - , 9 , , , , MXN , , Tinsukia , - , 10 , , , , BPB , , Lumding , - , 11 , , , , SCL , , Lumding , - , 12 , , , , DMV, , Lumding , - , 13 , , , , NTSK , , Tinsukia , - , 14 , , , , RPAN , , Rangiya , - , 15 , , , , NBQ , , Rangiya , - , 16, , , , NOQ , , Alipurduar , - , 17 , , , , NCB , , Alipurduar , - , 18 , , , , APDJ , , Aipurduar , - , 19 , , , , NJP , , Katihar , - , 20 , , , , KIR , , Katihar , - , 21 , , , , AGTL , , Lumding , - , 22 , , , , SGUJ , , Katihar


See also

* All India Station Masters' Association * Zones and divisions of Indian Railways * Northeast Frontier Railway Stadium


Further reading

*


References


External links


Northeast Frontier Railway

Indian Railways Online
(official site)
Indian Railways Fan Club

IR. Online Tickets

N F Railway (construction)

Northeast Frontier Railway Recruitment
{{coord missing, Assam N * Rail transport in Assam Transport in Guwahati Economy of Guwahati