The Ahmadpur–Katwa line is a railway branch line connecting Ahmadpur Junction railway station in

Birbhum district Birbhum district () is an District#India, administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five Divisions of West Bengal, administrative divisions of West Bengal. The distr ...

and Katwa in

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

of the Indian state of

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 fourt ...

. It is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway.

History

McLeod's Light Railways

McLeod's Light Railways (MLR) consisted of four narrow-gauge lines in

. The railways were built and owned by McLeod & Company, a subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd.

Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway McLeod's Light Railways (MLR) consisted of following four narrow-gauge lines in West Bengal in India. The railways were built and owned by McLeod & Company, which was the subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. L ...

connecting Ahmadpur (now

) and Katwa (now

opened on 29 September 1917. The railway was built in gauge and total length was . The engines chugged along at a maximum speed of 30 km per hour. In 1966, ownership of the AKR, together with its sister line, the Burdwan–Katwa Railway, was transferred to the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways.

Gauge conversion

This 52 km-long railway section was converted to broad gauge, work for which began on 14 January 2013. The line was opened to the public on 24 May 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmadpur-Katwa line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in West Bengal Transport in Birbhum district *