The Ambala–Attari line is a railway line connecting in the Indian state of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

and in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway.

History

The

Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway The Scinde, Punjab, Delhi Railway was formed in 1870 from the incorporation of the Scinde Railway, Indus Steam Flotilla, Punjab Railway and Delhi Railway companies. This was covered by the Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act 1869. ...

completed the Multan–Lahore–Amritsar line in 1865 and the -long Amritsar–Ambala–Saharanpur–Ghaziabad line in 1870 connecting

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

(now in Pakistan) with Delhi. Amritsar–Attari section was completed on the route to Lahore in 1862. Hoshiarpur was linked by rail with Jullundur Cantonment in 1913.

Electrification

The Ambala–Amritsar sector is electrified. It was electrified in parts. The Shahbad Markanda-Mandi Gobindgarh sector was electrified in 1995–96, the Mandi Gobindgarh–Ludhiana sector in 1996–97, the Phillaur–Phagwara sector in 2002–03, and the Phagwara–Jallandhar City–Amritsar in 2003–04.

Sheds and workshops

Ambala has an outstation shed for Shakurbasti WDS-4 diesel locos. Ludhiana diesel shed holds 170+ locos including WDM-2, WDM-3A and WDG-3A. Ludhiana electric loco shed was commissioned in 2001 and houses WAM-4, WAG-5 and WAG-7 locos. India's first and largest DMU shed at Jalandhar holds 90 units placed in service in rural Punjab. It also houses two BEML-built rail buses that operate on the Beas–Goindwal Sahib line. Amritsar workshop carries out periodic overhaul of WDS-4 locos and breakdown cranes and bogie manufacture.

Tracks and speed limit

The Ambala Cantonment–Ludhiana–Amritsar line is classified as a "Group B" line and can take speeds up to 130 km/ h. It is a double-line track. There is a third line between Sahnewal and Ludhiana.

Passenger movement

, , and , on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.

Railway reorganisation

Sind Railway (later reorganised as Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway) was formed a guaranteed railway in 1856. It constructed broad-gauge railways from Delhi to Multan via Lahore, and from Karachi to Kotri. Multan and Kotri were connected by ferry service on the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

. In 1871–72, Indus Valley Railway was formed to connect Multan and Kotri. At the same time, Punjab Northern State Railway started constructing from Lahore towards Peshawar. In 1886, Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway was acquired by the state and amalgamated with Indus Valley Railway and Punjab Northern State Railway to form North-Western State Railway. With the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, North Western Railway was split. While the western portion became Pakistan West Railway, and later

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

, the eastern part became Eastern Punjab Railway. In 1952, Northern Railway was formed with a portion of

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 ...

west of Mughalsarai, Jodhpur Railway, Bikaner Railway and Eastern Punjab Railway.

References

External links

Trains at AmbalaTrains at LudhianaTrains at Jallandhar CityTrains at Amritsar Trains at AttariTrains at Hoshiarpur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambala - Attari line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in Punjab, India Rail transport in Haryana Railway lines opened in 1870 * * 1870 establishments in India Transport in Ambala Transport in Amritsar