Old Malda–Abdulpur line was built in 1930 during the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

n rule. At present, the Bangladesh part of the railway line is operated and maintained under

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway ( bn, বাংলাদেশ রেলওয়ে) is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Ra ...

and the Indian part of the railway line is managed and maintained by

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 ...

History

In 1878, the

Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line The Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line is a railway line connecting with in North Bengal in the Indian state of West Bengal. The line continues through North Bengal and western part of Assam to connect with Guwahati. The – link allows trains from ...

was divided into two sections. The first leg was a 185 km journey on the East Bengal State Railway from Calcutta railway station (now

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 w ...

) to Damukdia Ghat on the south bank of the

Padma River The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

, followed by a second journey across the river by ferry. The North Bengal Railway's 336 km meter gauge line connected Saraghat on the north bank of the Padma with

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known as the ' ...

. The Howrah–New Jalpaiguri main line was gradually converted to broad gauge. The

Hardinge Bridge Hardinge Bridge is a steel railway truss bridge over the Padma River located at Ishwardi, Pabna and Bheramara, and Kushtia in Bangladesh. It is named after Lord Hardinge, who was the Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. The bridge is long. Con ...

was opened in 1915, while the Saraghat–Sirajganj line was built by the Sara–Sirajganj Railway Company between 1915-16. Then in 1930, the Abdulpur–Amnura broad gauge line was opened as a branch of the Saraghat–Sirajganj line.

Rohanpur–Singhabad transit

It is currently functioning as an active transit and is connected to

Singhabad railway station Singhabad railway station serves Singhabad in Habibpur community development block in Malda Sadar subdivision of Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a railway transit point on the Bangladesh–India border The Bangla ...

Malda district Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. T ...

, India. The railway entered India for the transport of goods from Bangladesh to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

through an agreement signed on 15 August 1978. A new route between Bangladesh and India was provided for through a renegotiation on 6 September 2011. Bangladesh started using this transit in 2011 by exporting fertilizers to Nepal. The Singabad–Rohanpur transit point is used from

Raxaul Junction railway station Raxaul Junction railway station is a main railway station in East Champaran district, Bihar. Its code is RXL. It serves Raxaul city and also as gateway to Nepal as the most important station on the Indo-Nepal border. The station consists of five ...

near the border of Nepal to

Khulna railway station Khulna Railway Station is a railway station in Khulna, Bangladesh. The railway station is the main station of the city, and links to rest of the country via the Darshana-Jessore-Khulna Line Intercity Trains From Khulna Mail Trains From Kh ...

in Bangladesh without any transshipment charges.

Branch line

A branch of the Old Malda–Abdulpur line runs from Amnura to

Chapainawabganj Chapainawabganj (Bengali language, Bengali: চাঁপাইনবাবগঞ্জ) is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division, and was formerly a sub-division of Malda district. The north and ...

. The line has two stations. Namely: Amnura Bypass railway station and Chapainawabganj railway station.

References

Rajshahi Division Malda district Bangladesh–India relations 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Bangladesh 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Railway lines opened in 1930 Cross-border railway lines in Bangladesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Old Malda-Abdulpur line