Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (R&KR) was a

metre gauge railway 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

covering a total network of 592 miles (953 km).Google Books "The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise" by Kartar Lalvani, page 218
Retrieved 8 December 2016 It was owned and worked by the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Company (registered 6 October 1882). The Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway was transferred to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and merged into the

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 ama ...

on 1 January 1943.

History

Offices of the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Company - Lucknow 1870s

The original main line from Bhojeepura (near

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

) opened in 1884 and ran 54 miles (84 km) in a north-westerly direction to

Kathgodam Kathgodam is a suburb of Haldwani city in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state of India. It used to be a part of the twin township of Haldwani-Kathgodam, and is immediately north of Haldwani. It is one of the important collection centres ...

. The railway was progressively extended, and by 1912 its network covered 256 miles (412 km). It also worked the 296 miles (476 km) long Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway. The R&KR was company owned and worked from formation in 1882. In 1883 Alexander Izat was appointed Director. Prior to this he was employed by the Railway Branch - Public Works Department (PWD) where he had served in various parts of India and was instrumental in initiating and carrying out many metre-gauge extensions.Grace's Guide "Alexander Izat"
Retrieved on 18 July 2016 He represented R&KR at the Indian Railway Conference Association and remained as Director, until his retirement in 1904. In 1918 he is recorded as being R&KR Chairman with headquarters in London. The R&KR remained a private company until nationalisation in 1943, when it was amalgamated with the Bengal and North-Western Railway (B&NWR), with which it had been closely associated, and the Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway, to form the

(O&TR). In turn, in 1952, the

became part of 'North Eastern Railway', a zone of

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 ...

. The R&KR had working agreements with both the metre gauge Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway and the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

''Powayan Light Railway''. The three railways used shared facilities but retained separate identities.

Lines operated by R&KR

*''Bhojeepura-Kathgodam R&KR Mainline'' from Bhojeepura (near

) to

, 1884; 54 miles (84 km) "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 196
Retrieved 8 December 2016 *''Kasganj Extension Line'' from

to Soron, 1885; to

Kasganj Kasganj is a city and the district headquarters of Kasganj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district was formed by grouping three Tehsils at 17 April 2008 . History Kasganj, which lies in the historical region of Braj, was al ...

, 1906; 63 miles (100 km) *''Ramnagar Extension Line'' from

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places: Bangladesh * Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division * Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar India Jammu and Kashmir * Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir ** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...

, 1907-8; 48 miles (76 km) *''Kashipur Extension Line'' from

Lalkua Lalkuan is a Nagar Panchayat in the Nainital district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Demographics In the 2011 India census, Lalkuan had a population of 7,644. Males constituted 55% of the population and females 45%. Lalkuan had an average l ...

to Kashipur, 1907; 36 miles (57 km) *''Shahjahanpur Extension Line'' from Pilibhit 1911; reaching

Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur () is a municipal corporation, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India. The city is between Bareilly and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. History Shahjahanpur was established by Di ...

1916; 56 miles(89 km) * Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway, from 1891, a metre gauge railway, which formed an alternative ''Northern Loop'' between the cities of

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

to the broad gauge main line of the

Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was an extensive railway network in the North India, mostly north of the Ganges, starting from Benares and subsequently up to Delhi. History The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was formed in 1872 with the assets of ...

. The metre gauge network of 198 miles (317 km) in 1891 was extended to 312 miles (500 km) by 1914. *''Powayan Light Railway'', from 17 December 1900, a 2 foot 6inch (762mm) narrow gauge line of 39 miles (62 km) length. *''Philibhit-Sitapur Railway'', sanctioned for survey in 1905-1906; metre gauge line from Pilibhit-Bisalpur to

and then to

Sitapur Sitapur is a city and a municipal board in Sitapur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 90 kilometres north of state capital, Lucknow. The traditional origin for the name is said to be by the King Vikramāditya from Lord ...

, a length of about 105 miles (168 km). The 'Philibhit - Shahjahanpur Section’ was constructed by R&KR as ''Shahjahanpur Extension Lin'', opened 1911-16 - ''see above''; the extension to

was constructed in 1916. * ''Dudhwa Branch Extension'' and ''Ramnager Ghat Extension'', proposed in 1895 by the Agents, the R&KR, on behalf of the Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway (LBSR)."Histories of (Indian)Railway Projects ...up to June 1906" page 42
Retrieved 8 December 2016 * ''Pilibhit-Barmedo Branch'', surveyed in 1903 by the Agents, the R&KR, on behalf of the Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway (LBSR)

Rolling stock

In 1936, the company owned 76 locomotives, 230 coaches and 2845 goods wagons.

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

Conversion to broad gauge

The railway lines were converted to broad gauge starting from 1990s to 2010s.

References

External links

Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway
on FIBIS *L/AG/46/35 "Records of the India Office relating to the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Company; 1882-1931" "British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue" - Search
Retrieved 27 Jan 2016 *L/F/7/2382-2391 "Collection 380: Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway, date unspecified" {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Metre gauge railways in India Defunct railway companies of India History of rail transport in Uttar Pradesh Railway companies established in 1882 Railway companies disestablished in 1943 Transport in Haldwani-Kathgodam Transport in Bareilly 1882 establishments in India 1943 disestablishments in India