Bengal Nagpur Railway

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Bengal Nagpur Railway
Industry Railways
Founded1887
Defunct1952 (Merged with East Indian Railway Company to form Eastern Railway)
Headquarters
Kolkata
,
India
Area served
Eastern and Central India
Services Rail transport
Subsidiaries Bengal Nagpur Railway
Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) Headquarters, now South Eastern Railway (SER) headquarters, Garden Reach, Kolkata BNR Office, Garden Reach.jpg
Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) Headquarters, now South Eastern Railway (SER) headquarters, Garden Reach, Kolkata
Garratt locomotive 6594 of the Bengal Nagpur Railway at the National Rail Museum Beyer Garratt 6594.jpg
Garratt locomotive 6594 of the Bengal Nagpur Railway at the National Rail Museum
BNR House, residence of the GM of SER BNR House.jpg
BNR House, residence of the GM of SER

The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India. It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway.

Contents

History

The opening of the Mumbai–Thane line in 1853 marked the beginning of railways in India. Extension of the railways was set off throughout the country. On the north-eastern side of Mumbai, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway line was extended up to Bhusawal and then split in two. While one track led to Nagpur, the other to Jabalpur to connect with the East Indian Railway line from Allahabad to Jabalpur, thereby connecting Mumbai and Kolkata. The great famine of 1878 provided an opportunity for the construction of 150 km long meter gauge link called the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway in 1882 connecting Nagpur with Rajnandgaon. [1]

The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Line and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah-Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad. [1] The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was owned by the provincial government. [2] Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887. [3] The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was purchased from Great Indian Peninsula Railway by Bengal Nagpur Railway in 1888, and was converted to broad gauge. [2] The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891. [4] It was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900. [5] Further it was planned to construct a 161 miles long Branch Line from Bilaspur to Umaria for through connection with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway(GIPR) system at Katni, This BNR main line was completed in 1886-87 and connected to the Umaria Coalfield Railway, which worked from Umaria to Katni, thus creating a branch line connecting BNR station at Bilaspur to GIP Railway station Katni near Jabalpur. [6] Further, 1901 part of the East Coast State Railway was absorbed into the BNR, thus the Cuttack to Waltair section came under management of BNR. [7]

Although Bengal Nagpur Railway was not a part of original design to connect major points in the subcontinent with a network of railways, it was instrumental in developing a shorter, and hence more popular, route from Howrah to Mumbai and the trunk route from Howrah to Chennai. [1] [4] [5]

The civil engineer Lt Col Arthur John Barry was the Executive Engineer in charge of the construction of the bridge over the Damodar River and the work of the Damodar district of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, of which he was afterwards Superintending Engineer of the Bengal section. [8]

In 1925, Bengal Nagpur Railway purchased five steam railcars from Sentinel and Metro-Cammell. [9] [10] In 1936 the company owned 802 locomotives, 5 railcars, 692 coaches and 25.434 goods wagons. [11]

The management of the Bengal Nagpur Railway was taken over by the Government of India in 1944. [4] Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway. [12] In 1955, South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier. [12] [13] Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway and South Coast Railway was bifurcated between ECOR and SCR and a new Zone was formed in Visakahapatnam as Headquarters. Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway. [12]

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926. [14] [15]

Recreational arm

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Railway zone</span> Railway zone of India

The Eastern Railway is among the 19 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol. Each division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM). The name of the division denotes the name of the city where the divisional headquarters is located. Eastern Railway oversees the largest and second largest rail complexes in the country, Howrah Junction and Sealdah railway station, and also contains the highest number of A1 and A Category Stations like Howrah, Malda Town, Sealdah, Asansol, Kolkata, Durgapur, Barddhaman, Rampurhat Junction, Bhagalpur,Jamalpur, Jasidih, Bandel and Naihati. Eastern Railways operates India's oldest train, Kalka Mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Eastern Railway zone</span> Railway zone of India

The South Eastern Railway is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It comprises Adra railway division, Chakradharpur railway division, Kharagpur railway division and Ranchi railway division.

Umaria Coalfield is located in Umaria district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in the valley of the Umrer River, a tributary of the Son River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line</span> Train line in India

The Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line, is a railway line connecting Kolkata and Mumbai via Prayagraj. The 2,160-kilometre long (1,340 mi) railway line was opened to traffic in 1870. This railway line was 2,146-kilometre long (1,333 mi) until 2004. In 2004 the construction of Indira Sagar Dam submerged the old alignment near Khandwa & a new alignment of 14-kilometre long (8.7 mi) was relaid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line</span> Railway route in India

The Asansol–Adra–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line is part of Howrah and eastern India's links with Mumbai and Chennai. It is also a major freight line for transporting iron ore, coal and steel products. This page includes the Adra–Bokaro Steel City branch line, the Adra-Gomoh branch line, the Adra-Dhanbad branch line and Tatanagar–Badampahar branch lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line</span> Indian railway route

The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is a railway line in India connecting Kolkata and Mumbai via Nagpur. The 1,968-kilometre-long (1,223 mi) railway line was opened to traffic in 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatanagar–Bilaspur section</span> Railway line in East India, connecting Tatanagar, Jharkhand, with Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

The Tatanagar–Bilaspur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects Tatanagar in the Indian state of Jharkhand and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through an industrial-mining area and handles high volumes of freight, particularly coal and iron ore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilaspur Junction railway station</span> Railway station in Chhattisgarh

Bilaspur Junction Railway Station, located in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, serves Bilaspur in Bilaspur district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilaspur–Nagpur section</span> Railway line in India

The Bilaspur–Nagpur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects Bilaspur in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and Nagpur in Maharashtra. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through a forested plateau region interspersed with fertile valleys.

Rajnandgaon Railway Station serves Rajnandgaon in Rajnandgaon district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and it is the best way to reach Rajnandgaon

Gondia Junction serves Gondia in Gondia district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is one of the important railway stations in India of South East central railways zone railways. This station is India's third and first in Vidarbha to get mist cooling system.Its falls under nagpur division

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raipur Junction railway station</span> Railway junction station in Chattisgarh

Raipur Junction is the main railway station serving the city of Raipur. It is only few of the railway stations in India which has been given the grade 'A-1' by the Indian Railways and is one of the highest-revenue-earning railway stations in India. This station is one of the prominent stations on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line. It is also the originating point of the Raipur–Vizianagarm branch line route. Raipur is the busiest railway station in South Eastern Central Railway zone.

Chakraharpur Railway Station serves Chakradharpur in West Singhbhum district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purulia Junction railway station</span> Railway Station in West Bengal, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adra Junction railway station</span> Railway station in West Bengal, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durg Junction railway station</span> Railway station in Chhattisgarh

Durg Junction Railway Station, is a junction station located in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It serves Durg, Bhilai city and the adjoining areas of it. Durg Junction is the part of South East Central Railway. It is one of the largest railway junctions of Chhattisgarh in terms of network. It is also one of the most prominent and important station in Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line. It is an 'A' grade station of Indian Railways in terms of passenger services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howrah–Kharagpur line</span> Railway Route in West Bengal, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damodar railway station</span> Railway station in West Bengal, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katni Junction railway station</span> Railway station in Madhya Pradesh, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line</span> Railway route in India

The Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line is an Indian railway line connecting Barkakana and Muri with Chandil on the Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line. This 126-kilometre (78 mi) track is under the jurisdiction of South Eastern Railway.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Number 1 Down Mail". Railways of the Raj. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway". fibis. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Bengal-Nagpur Railway". fibis. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Major Events in the Formation of S.E. Railway". South Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  5. 1 2 R.P.Saxena. "Indian Railway History timeline". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Bhowmik, Shyamapada (1998). History of the Bengal Nagpur Railway Working Class Movements, 1906-1947: With Special Reference to Kharagpur. Krantik Prakashani. p. 5. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Locomotive Railway Carriage and Wagon Review. 1917. p. 5. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Frederick Arthur Crisp Visitation of England and Wales, Volume 14, London (1906)
  9. ↑ Ostendorf, Rolf (1977). Dampftriebwagen, Bauarten, Typen und Systeme (in German). Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart. p. 159-160. ISBN   3-87943-517-0.
  10. ↑ "Bengal Nagpur, Articulated Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar, mid 1920's". Flickr . 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  11. ↑ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 211. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 "Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "IR History: Part - IV (1947 - 1970)". IRFCA. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "Indian Railway Classification". Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  15. ↑ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. pp. 210–219. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
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