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
StatusOperational
LocaleWest Bengal
TerminiNew Jalpaiguri
Samuktala Road
Stations24
Operation
Opened1950
OwnerIndian Railway
Operator(s)Northeast Frontier Railway
Technical
Line length182 km (113 mi)
Track gauge1,676 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]

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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 video
Video shots of the Dooars from a train
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