Ahmadpur–Katwa line

The Ahmadpur–Katwa line is a railway branch line connecting Ahmadpur Junction railway station in Birbhum district and Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway.[2]

Ahmadpur–Katwa line
Railcar No 10607 in March 2012
Overview
SystemSingle Line Diesel
StatusOperational
LocaleWest Bengal
TerminiAhmadpur
Katwa
Stations16
Operation
Opened29 September 1917 (NG) 24 May 2018 (BG)
Closed14 January 2013 (NG)
OwnerIndian Railways
Operator(s)1917-1966 McLeod's Light Railways 1966-present Eastern Railway
Technical
Line length52 km (32 mi)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Old gauge2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Route map
km
52
 Ahmadpur Junction
46
 Chowhatta
42
 Gopalpurgram
40
 Labpur
Bakreshwar River
36
 Mahespur
30
 Kirnahar
25
 Daskalgram
23
 Kurmadanga
21
 Jnandas Kandra
17
 Komarpur
16
 Nirol
14
 Nirolgram Halt
12
 Pachandi
Kandor River
8
 Ambalgram
Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop
4
 Nabagram Kankurhati
Ajay River
Bardhaman–Katwa line
0
 Katwa Junction
Bandel–Katwa line
km

Sources: [1]

History

McLeod's Light Railways

McLeod's Light Railways (MLR) consisted of four 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge lines in West Bengal. The railways were built and owned by McLeod & Company, a subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd.[3]

Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway connecting Ahmadpur (now Birbhum district) and Katwa (now Purba Bardhaman district), West Bengal opened on 29 September 1917. The railway was built in 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge and total length was 52 kilometres (32 mi).[4]

The engines chugged along at a maximum speed of 30 km per hour.[5][6]

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.[7]

Gauge conversion

This 52 km-long railway section was converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge, work for which began on 14 January 2013. The line was opened to the public on 24 May 2018.[8][9]

gollark: Also, I fixed the proxy configuration so now mpd will always get GET requests, instead of POST, which it appears to not like.
gollark: That's somehow bigger than my "video media archive" thing.
gollark: What *is* /var/bt?
gollark: Just pick any, although probably don't use it in a formal context because neither is "really" a word.
gollark: Jokes are hard to parse.

References
  1. "Howrah Division System Map". ER Railway.
  2. Chakraborty, Snehamoy (14 January 2013). "Emotions pasted – One last run". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  3. "McLeod's Light Railways". Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  4. "Ahmedpur-Katwa Railway". Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  5. "Narrow gauge gets a new lease of life". The Statesman, 14 October 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  6. Manning, Ian. "The Katwa Railways". From Bengal Towards Nagpur. Indian Railway Fan Club. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  7. "Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway". FIBIS Wiki. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  8. "First train starts running on newly constructed Ahmedpur Katwa broadgauge line" (in Bengali). Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  9. "Passenger train to start on newly constructed Ahmedpur Katwa broadgauge line". Indian Railways. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.