New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line

The New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line is a railway line that connects New Jalpaiguri with Alipurduar and Samuktala Road in the Indian state of West Bengal.

New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line (including New Cooch Behar-Golakganj branch line)
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	New Jalpaiguri Samuktala Road
Stations	24
Operation
Opened	1950
Owner	Indian Railway
Operator(s)	Northeast Frontier Railway
Technical
Line length	182 km (113 mi)
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Route map km km New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section 238 105 Fakiragram New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section Fakiragram-Golakganj branch line to Dhubri & Abhayapuri 58 Golakganj Gadadhar River closed MG section to Bamanhat 43 Agomoni 36 Bidyar Dabri Assam West Bengal border 30 Boxirhat New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section 23 Tufanganj Samuktala Road 174 213 12 Maradanga 203 New Alipurduar Kaljani River 192 New Baneswar Alipurduar-Bamanhat branch line 184 0 New Cooch Behar New Mal–Changrabandha– New Cooch Behar line New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section 176 Baneswar Kaljani River 166 Alipurduar Salsala Bari 169 164 Alipurduar Court Alipurduar College 164 161 Alipurduar Junction 157 Damanpur 150 Rajabhatkhawa Buxa Road 156 closed MG section Jayanti 166 planned Rajabhatkhawa-Jayanti new BG line 144 Garopara 138 Kalchini 135 Hamiltonganj 126 Hasimara Air Force Base Torsa River Dalsingpara 120 closed MG section 116 Madarihat 107 Mujnai 101 Dalgaon 92 Binnaguri 85 Banarhat Jaldhaka River 77 Chengmari 74 Carron 69 Nagrakata 62 Chapramari Naxal 71 planned Chalsa-Naxal new BG line Matiali 64 closed MG section 55 Chalsa Neora River Gangtok 122 48 New Mal Junction Singtam 90 New Mal–Changrabandha– New Cooch Behar line planned/approved ↑ under construction ↓ 42 Damdim Rangpo 68 37 Oodlabari Sikkim West Bengal border Ghish River Melli 51 33 Bagrakot Tista Bazar 46 Leesh River Teesta River 26 Pillamshat Teesta River Gielkhola 44 Rilli 40 Riyang 37 Siliguri-Gielkhola closed NG section Kalijhora 27 21 Sivok 18 Gulma Khola Salugara 13 Mahananda River Siliguri-Gielkhola closed NG section 16 Gulma 11 Pashwashraya Panchnai Junction 13 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway narrow gauge line Siliguri-Kishanganj closed NG section Panchai River 7 Siliguri Junction Matigara 11 4 Siliguri Town Balason River New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section 0 New Jalpaiguri R.R. Halt 14 7 Rangapani Bagdogra 17 Katihar-New Jalpaiguri line Katihar-Siliguri line 0 Sources: Google maps Indian Railway – East Zone Time Table 55425 Alipurduar–Bamanhat Passenger 55426 Bamanhat–Alipuduar Passenger

History

Cooch Behar State Railway built the line between Geetaldaha, which connected to Lalmonirhat, and Jainti during 1893-1901.[1] The Eastern Bengal Railway constructed the Hasimara–Alipurduar section during the period 1900–1910. The Bengal Dooars Railway also constructed certain lines in the area. Their longest line was from Lalmonirhat to the western Dooars. Those were metre gauge railways. The Eastern Bengal Railway and the Assam Bengal Railway were merged during World War II and came to be known as the Bengal Assam Railway. With the partition of India in 1947, the Indian part of Bengal Assam Railway became Assam Railway, which subsequently became part of North Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway.[2][3][4] The metre gauge track was converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.[5][6] The 182 kilometres (113 mi) long New Jalpaiguri/ Siliguri-Samuktala Road Line was constructed as part of the Assam Rail Link project in 1948-50. After conversion to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in), it was re-opened on 20 November 2003.[4][7]

Locale

The rail bridge across the Teesta, to the south of the Coronation Bridge

The Dooars or the Himalayan foothills cover a stretch of about 140 km in the northern part of Jalpaiguri district between the Teesta and Sankosh rivers with fields, forests and tea gardens in the backdrop of low hills. Numerous mountain streams criss-cross the region. The Dooars are particularly notable for its forests and wild life sanctuaries – Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Chilapata Forests, and Buxa Tiger Reserve. The New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road Line runs through the area.[8] It also runs through another sanctuary outside the Dooars – Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

Elephants

As the line runs through deep forests, it faces problems with elephant herds. A large number of elephants have been killed by speeding trains. There have been restrictions on the speed of trains, particularly at night, followed by protests by the local population.[5][9]

Sikkim connection

See also: Rangpo railway station

The construction of a new 44.4-kilometre (27.6 mi) long railway track from Sevoke on the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road Line in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim commenced in 2010.[10][11] The railway line up to Rangpo is expected to be completed in 2021.[12] In the second phase the line will be extended up to Gangtok.[13]

Branch lines

The broad gauge branch line from Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district to Changrabandha in Cooch Behar district exists with connecting line to New Cooch Behar. Old metre gauge extension of this line on the Bangladesh side from Burimari to Lalmonirhat is still functional.[14][15]

The Alipuduar–Bamanhat branch line ends near the India–Bangladesh border across the Dharla River. In pre-independence days, it used to connect to Mogalhat, now in Bangladesh, across the Dharla. The bridge is broken. The line from Golokganj meets the branch line. Before the Dharla bridge was broken the rail link from Parbatipur to Fakiragram used to pass through Geetaldaha, now a border village in Cooch Behar district, and Bamanhat.[15][16] The Alipurduar-Bamanhat branch line was converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) in 2007.[17] Dhubri-New Jalpaiguri Inter-city Express via Cooch Behar was introduced in February 2012.[18]

Rajabhatkawa-Jainti line is a new project sanctioned in 2012-13.[19]

References

1. "The Cooch Behar State Railways (1903)". "The Cooch Behar state and its land revenue settlements" by H. N. Chaudhuri, Cooch Behar State Press, 1903 – Review by R Sivaramakrishnan. IRFCA. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
2. "History". Northeast Frontier Railway. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
3. "Bengal Dooars Railway". Fibis. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
4. R.P. Saxena. "Indian Railway History timeline". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
5. "Elephant blocks trains in Dooars". News from Darjeeling, Dooars and Sikkim. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
6. Alastair Boobyer. "India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
7. "Focus on safety and security of trains". Chennai, India: The Hindu, 27 February 2003. 27 February 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
8. "Dooars". Retrieved 20 November 2011.
9. "Dooars protests train speed control". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
10. "Work commences on new railway line connecting Sikkim". Business Standard. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
11. Jayanta Gupta (29 October 2009). "Finally, Sikkim railway project on track". Times of India. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
12. Financial Express. Indian Railways new Sivok-Rangpo rail project: Travel from West Bengal to Sikkim in just 2 hours. (30 August 2019).
13. Times of India. Very soon, travelling to Sikkim by train will be a possibility. (17 September 2019).
14. Mohan Bhuyan. "International Links from India". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
15. "Geography – International". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
16. "Official pledges rail project by March". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
17. Srivastava, V.P. "Role of Engineering Deptt in Meeting Corporate Objectives of Indian Railways" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
18. "Two new trains flagged off". The Telegraph, 12 February 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
19. "What is new in Railway Budget 2012-13". The Times of India, 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

External links

External video

Video shots of the Dooars from a train

• Trains at Hasimara