Gorai Railway Bridge

Gorai Rail Bridge
On the left: Syed Mach-ud-Rumi Bridge, on the right: Gorai Railway Bridge
Coordinates	23°53′10″N89°10′49″E / 23.88624°N 89.18035°E / 23.88624; 89.18035
Carries	Train
Crosses	Gorai River
Locale	Kaya, Kumarkhali Upazila, Kushtia District, Khulna Division, Bangladesh
Other name(s)	Kaya Railway Bridge
Owner	Bangladesh Railway
Maintained by	Railway Pakshi Division
Characteristics
Material	Steel, Brick, Sand, Cement
Total length	515 meters
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	Broad gauge
History
Constructed by	Eastern Bengal Railway
Construction start	1865
Construction end	1871;154 years ago (1871)
Rebuilt	1936–1938
Location

Gorai Railway Bridge is a railway bridge built over the Gorai River in the Kushtia District. Construction of the bridge began in 1865. ^[1] It is the first major railway bridge in Bangladesh. ^[2]

The Nakshikantha Commuter crossing the Gorai Rail Bridge

History

The first railway in present-day Bangladesh was inaugurated on November 15, 1862. At that time the country’s first railway station Jagati railway station was established. In 1871, the railway line was extended from Jagati to Goalondo. One of the biggest challenges in constructing this railway was crossing the Gorai River in Kushtia. ^[1] Work on building a bridge over the river began in 1865, and construction was completed in 1871. The bridge was designed by British engineer J.A. Temple. ^[3]

In September 1936 a revised project was undertaken to replace the bridge’s girders and repair its piers. The Railway Board allocated a budget of 1.27 million rupees for this work. Aldwyn Smullar, an engineer from Eastern Bengal Railway was assigned to oversee the renovations. ^[4] In 1936, three bridge spans were replaced, and the remaining four spans were replaced in 1937 and 1938. ^[2]

References

1. Md. Rezaul Karim (2022). কুষ্টিয়ার প্রত্ননিদর্শন[Archaeological site of Kushtia] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Gatidhara. pp. 208, 209. ISBN   9789848950418.
2. Major (Retd.) Mahmud (2023-12-10). "'Gorai Rail Bridge' – The Country's First Major Railway Bridge". Swadesh Bangla. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
3. ভারতীয় রেলওয়ের উপর রেলওয়ে বোর্ডের রিপোর্ট (১৯৩৬-১৯৩৭) (PDF). p. 42. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
4. "বাবার হাতের স্মৃতি দেখতে গড়াই রেল ব্রিজে দুই ভাই". দৈনিক ইনকিলাব. 2021-05-09. Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

Bibliography

• Md. Rezaul Karim (2022). কুষ্টিয়ার প্রত্ননিদর্শন[Archaeological site of Kushtia] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Gatidhara. pp. 208, 209. ISBN   9789848950418.