The Barsoi–New Farakka section is an Indian railway line connecting Barsoi with New Farakka junction on the

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

. This track is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway.

History

With the partition of India in 1947, a major portion of the Calcutta–Siliguri line ran through East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. With several rail links in Bihar, the attention was on those links, and new links were developed. However, one hurdle stood out. There was no bridge across the

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

river even in Bihar. A generally acceptable route to Siliguri was via

Sahibganj loop The Sahibganj loop is a railway line connecting Khana Junction and Kiul Junction. Originally a part of the Howrah–Delhi main line, it was opened to traffic in 1866. With the construction of a shorter railway line for a part of the route, th ...

to Sakrigali ghat. Across the Ganges by ferry to Manihari Ghat. Then metre gauge via

Katihar Katihar (; ), is the tenth largest city in the state of Bihar in India in terms of population, Along with being one of the largest economic, educational and administrative centre in the eastern part of Bihar. The city situated in the eastern ...

and Barsoi to

Kishanganj Kishanganj is a city and district headquarters of Kishanganj district in Purnia division of Bihar state in India. History Kishanganj, which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominen ...

and finally narrow gauge to Sliguri. In 1949 Kishanganj-Siliguri section was converted to metre gauge. In the early 1960s, when Farakka Barrage was being constructed, a far reaching change was made. Indian Railways constructed a new broad-gauge rail link from south Bengal.

New Jalpaiguri New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station (station code NJP) established in 1960, is an A1 category broad-gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest and the busiest ...

, a new broad-gauge station was built south of Siliguri Town. While a new line was built from Tildanga station in the B.B loop line to Farakka Ghat on the south bank of Ganges by 1958, a long wide

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 , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

new line was constructed from Khejuria Ghat (near present-day Chamagram station), on the north bank of the

to Malda Town by 1961. This Kumedpur-Barsoi section was built in 1959. The entire section from Barsoi to Khejuriaghat was completed and connected by 1962. Steamer services connected the north and south banks of the river thereby linking North & South Bengal The long Farakka Barrage, which carries a Rail-cum-Road bridge across the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

was opened in 1971 thereby directly linking the

Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop The Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop is a railway line connecting Barharwa on the Sahibganj loop and Katwa. Together with the Bandel–Katwa line, which connects this line to Bandel Junction on the Howrah–Bardhaman main line, it is also kno ...

to Malda Town, New Jalpaiguri and other railway stations in North Bengal. Consequently, Tildanga-Farakka Ghat & Chamagram-Khejuria Ghat lines were dismantled. The current Rail-cum-Road bridge will be made solely a Railway bridge for New Farakka-Malda Town 3rd Line construction. A new Road bridge on NH 12 is being made at Farakka, which will span across the river.

Branch lines

The Old Malda–Abdulpur section is used up to

Singhabad Singhabad (also spelled Singabad) is a village in Habibpur CD block in Malda Sadar subdivision of Malda district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a railway transit point on the Bangladesh-India border. Geography Location Singhabad ...

on the Indian side. Bangladesh started export of fertilizer to Nepal utilizing the Rohanpur–Singhabad transit point in November 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsoi-New Farakka section 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Railway lines in Bihar