Santahar–Kaunia line

The Santahar–Kaunia line is a metre gauge railway line connecting Santahar and Kaunia in Bangladesh. This track is under the jurisdiction of Bangladesh Railway.

Santahar–Kaunia line
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Bangladesh
Termini	Santahar Kaunia
Stations	29
Services	2
Operation
Opened	1878
Owner	Bangladesh Railway
Technical
Line length	?
Number of tracks	?
Track gauge	Metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in)
Operating speed	?

Santahar–Kaunia line

to Lalmonirhat Junction to Parbatipur–Lalmonirhat–Burimari Line Kaunia to Parbatipur to Burimari–Lalmonirhat–Parbatipur Line Anandanagar Pirgacha Choudhuari Hasanganj Bamandanga Naldanga Kamarpara Kuptola Gaibandha Trimohini Ananda Bazar Badiakhali Road Kanchipara Bharalkhali (with extension to Ferry Ghat on Jamuna) Bonarpara Balashi Ghat Ferry across Jamuna (now no more part of route) Bahadurabad Ghat to Bahadurabad Ghat–Narayanganj line Mahimaganj Shalmara Sonatala Bhelurpara Sayid Ahmed College Sukanpukur Gabtali Bogra Kahaloo Panchpir Mazar Talora Altafnagar Nasratpur Adamdighi Santahar to Chilahati–Parbatipur–Darshana line Source: "Bangladesh Railway Route Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2013.

History

The Brahmaputra–Sultanpur Railway Company constructed the 94-kilometre long (58 mi) metre gauge railway track from Santahar to Fulchhari (Tistamukh) in 1899–1900. Presently the line is up to Balashi Ghat in Phulchhari Upazila. The 44-kilometre long (27 mi) Bonarpara–Kaunia line was constructed in 1905.[1][2]

Assam Mail

The prestigious Assam Mail originally ran along this track in the British days from Santahar to Guwahati.[3]

Ferry

In Bangladesh, ferries are often an integrated part of the railway system. There were two major ferry points across the Jamuna, one between Bahadurabad Ghat and Tistamukh Ghat and the other between Jagannath Ghat and Sirajganj Ghat.[4][5]

The ferry system had reached the limits of its capacity. While marginal capacity additions were still feasible, to cope with any significant increase in capacity or even normal traffic growth was virtually felt to be impossible.[6]

The construction of the 4.8-kilometre long (3.0 mi) Bangabandhu Bridge has completely changed the scope of communication systems in that part of the country. The ferry system at both the Bahadurabad Ghat-Balashi Ghat and the Jagannathganj Ghat–Sirajganj Ghat was virtually closed. Only limited freight transportation continued on the Bahadurabad Ghat-Balashi section. Even that has been closed down in 2010 because of formation of shoal in the river.[7][8]

References

1. "Brief History". Bangladesh Railway. 4 December 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
2. Fida, Quazi Abul (2012). "Railway". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
3. "Trains of fame and locos with a name - Part 2". IRFCA. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
4. "Infrastructure (Bangladesh)". Jane’s Intelligence and Insight. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
5. "Trans Asian Railway Network (TAR): Southern Corridor" (PDF). Bangabandhu (Jamuna) Bridge: Opportunities created by it in promoting international rail transport. Centre for Policy Dialogue. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
6. "Linking east and west Bangladesh:The Jamuna (BangaBandhu) Bridge Project" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Programme Implementation. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
7. "Drastic fall in Jamuna water level hampers transport". The Daily Star, 23 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
8. "Boatmen dredging Jamuna as govt turns a blind eye". The Daily Star, 12 February 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-16.