The Sealdah–Ranaghat line connects Sealdah and Ranaghat in the Indian state of West Bengal. It includes Kolkata Railway Station, the Calcutta chord link to Dankuni on the Howrah-Bardhaman Chord, the link to Bandel on the Howrah-Bardhaman Main Line, and the Kalyani Simanta link. This line has change-over facilities to Kolkata Metro and Kolkata Circular Railway. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway.
The main line of the Eastern Bengal Railway from Sealdah to Ranaghat, was opened in 1862 and extended to Kushtia, now in Bangladesh, within two months. The Calcutta terminus of the Railway was opened the same year in a tin-roofed shed at Sealdah. [1] The line was extended to Goalundo Ghat in 1864, although it was opened in 1871. [2]
The Eastern Bengal Railway, which operated east of the Hooghly, was linked with the East Indian Railway, which operated west of the river, when Jubilee Bridge, linking Bandel and Naihati was opened in 1887. The Calcutta Chord Railway constructed the line from Dum Dum to Dankuni over the Willingdon Bridge in 1932. The bridge was later renamed Vivekananda Setu.
The original station at Sealdah, designed by Walter Glanville, was built in 1869. It was then called the Calcutta Station. It was renamed Sealdah Station only after the partition of India in 1947.
There is a vivid description of the railway system of Nadia district, in which Ranaghat lies, about a century ago, in the District Gazetteer. The district then included areas now part of Bangladesh.
"The district is now (1909) very well served with railways. About 170 miles of the Eastern Bengal State Railway, all broad gauge, lie within its borders. The main line from Calcutta to Siliguri passes through the district, roughly from south to north; the distance from Kanchrapara on the southern boundary to Damukdia on the Padma is about 92 miles, and this section has 21 stations. The Lal Gola branch takes off from Ranaghat junction; it passes in a north-westerly direction; the portion within the district is about 48 miles in length, and there are 8 stations upon it. This branch traverses the Kalantar, which is the tract that is most liable to famine in the district and generally contains the lowest stock of food grains. In the 1896-97 famine the supply of food suddenly gave out in this tract, and, in the absence of the railway, which had not then been constructed, the greatest difficulty was experienced in importing enough grain to prevent deaths from starvation. If another famine should unfortunately occur, this line will save the District Officer much of the anxiety which his predecessors had to bear. The central branch of the Eastern Bengal State Railway also takes off from Ranaghat junction; only about nine miles of it (with two stations) lies within the boundaries of the district; it passes in an easterly direction through the Ranaghat subdivision into the Bangaon subdivision of the Jessore district. The Goalundo branch takes off from Poradah." [3]
The Sealdah-Ranaghat Line presently has two tracks. It is expected that the proposal for a third line will be part of the budget proposals in 2012. [4]
The Sealdah - Dumdum - Naihati - Kalyani - Ranaghat – Krishnanagar track is classified as a C-class track, which is not a speed classification but one used for suburban sections of metropolitan areas. [5]
The Sealdah-Ranaghat Line was electrified in 1963. Dum Dum-Dankuni, Dum Dum-Chitpore Yard, and Bandel-Naihati sections were electrified in 1965. [2] [6]
Line-wise or route-wise passenger data is not available, but Sealdah Station handles 1.5 million passengers arriving or departing in 704 trains daily (including EMU locals) and a good proportion of that uses this line as it is the main line out of that station. [7]
Among the important trains from Sealdah using this track are: Maitree Express to Dhaka, Rajdhani Express to New Delhi, Duronto Express to New Delhi, Annanya Express to Udaipur, Akal Takht Express to Amritsar, Darjeeling Mail to Haldibari, Bhagirathi Express to Lalgola, Gour Express to Balurghat, and Uttar Banga Express to New Cooch Behar.
The Sealdah-Puri Duronto Express which was introduced in February 2012 is the first train from Sealdah to South Eastern Railway bypassing Howrah Station. It runs over a part of this track. [8]
Sealdah is one of India's major railway terminal serving the city of Kolkata. The other main railway stations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are Howrah, Shalimar, Kolkata and Santragachi. Sealdah is one of the busiest railway stations in India and also the second largest railway station in India after Howrah located in the same city of Kolkata with a daily passenger footfall of over 1.2 million. It also acts as an important suburban rail terminal. After completion, Kolkata Metro Line 2 will pass through Sealdah.
The Eastern Railway is among the 18 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 Consists Most no. of A1 and A Category Stations like Howrah, Malda Town, Sealdah, Asansol, Durgapur, Barddhaman, Bhagalpur, Jasidih, Bandel, Dankuni etc. Eastern Railways operates one of the oldest trains of India, Kalka Mail. 3 Popular Zones ECR, SER NFR were part Indian railways.
The Kolkata Suburban Railway is a or suburban rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in India. There are six main lines and nineteen branch lines. The suburban railway operates more than 1,500 services, carrying 3.5 million people daily and 1.2 billion people every year. It runs from 03:00 am until 02:00 am and the fares range from ₹5 (7.0¢ US) to ₹20 (28¢ US). The system uses 25 kV 50 Hz AC power supply and runs on 5 ft 6 in broad gauge track. It also has interchange stations with the Kolkata Metro at various locations.
The Howrah–Delhi main line is a railway line connecting Delhi and Kolkata cutting across northern India. The 1,532 km (952 mi) railway line was opened to traffic in 1866 with the introduction of the "1 Down/2 Up Mail" train.
The Howrah–Bardhaman main line is a broad-gauge railway line connecting Howrah and Bardhaman via Bandel. The 108 kilometres (67 mi) railway line operates in Howrah, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of the Howrah–Delhi main line and the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.
The Howrah–Bardhaman chord is a broad-gauge rail line connecting Howrah and Bardhaman. The 95-kilometre-long (59 mi) railway line operates in Howrah, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman districts in the state of West Bengal. It is part of the Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line, Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line and the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.
The Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line is a railway line connecting Howrah with New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal in the Indian state of West Bengal. The line continues through North Bengal and western part of Assam to connect with Guwahati. The Naihati–Bandel link allows trains from another terminus Sealdah in Calcutta to use this route. The line uses a major part of the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop. Many trains use an alternative line between Howrah and New Farakka, via Bardhaman and Rampurhat. Other parts of West Bengal and Bihar are well-connected to this line. It is under the administrative jurisdiction of Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway.
The Lalgola and Gede branch lines connect Ranaghat with Lalgola and Gede in the Indian state of West Bengal. Both the branch lines run up to the India-Bangladesh border. While Lalgola is on the southern bank of the Padma, Gede has a through connection via Darshana.
The Sealdah–Hasnabad–Bongaon–Ranaghat line is a set of three lines interlinked with each other: the Sealdah–Bangaon line connecting Sealdah and Bangaon, the Barasat–Basirhat–Hasnabad line connecting Barasat and Hasnabad and the Ranaghat–Bangaon line connecting Ranaghat and Bangaon. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway.
The Eastern Bengal Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated from 1857 to 1942, in Bengal and Assam provinces of British India.
Kolkata railway station is the newest of the five intercity railway stations serving Howrah and Kolkata, India; the others are Sealdah station in Kolkata and Howrah station, Shalimar station and Santragachi Junction in Howrah. Kolkata station is situated in the Chitpur locality of North Kolkata.
Dankuni is a railway junction station on the Howrah–Bardhaman chord and is located in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is linked with both Howrah and Sealdah.
Naihati Junction is a Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station on the Sealdah–Ranaghat line and Naihati–Bandel link. It is located in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Naihati and the surrounding areas.
Dum Dum is a Kolkata Suburban Railway junction station on the Sealdah–Ranaghat line. Two lines branch out after Dum Dum – the Calcutta chord line to Dankuni and the Sealdah–Hasnabad–Bangaon–Ranaghat line to Bangaon and Hasnabad. The Dum Dum metro station is adjacent to Dum Dum railway station. It is located in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Dum Dum and the surrounding areas. The popular Sealdah Rajdhani Express and Sealdah-Bikaner Duronto Express pass through DDJ.
The Chord link line is also known as Calcutta Chord link which is the Branch line of the Kolkata Suburban Railway which comes under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway's Sealdah Division & Howrah Division. Its termini are Sealdah (SDAH) and Dankuni Junction on the Sealdah-Dankuni route where it meets Howrah–Bardhaman chord line with the length of 22 km with 9 stations. Which is an important link for both Divisions of Eastern Railway zone and has an direct connectivity with South Eastern Railway.
Barrackpore is a railway station in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal, which serves the city of Barrackpore. It lies on the Sealdah–Ranaghat line and is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway.
The Eastern line of Kolkata Suburban Railway is a public transit system serving Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It consists of total 266 stations from Howrah Junction to Barddhaman & Sealdah to Gede. The entire line is at grade. It has two sections of quadruple tracks, First section is starting from Howrah Junction and ends at Barddhaman, Katwa, Goghat, Bandel and second section is starting from Sealdah and ends at Hasnabad, Bangaon, Gede, Krishnanagar, Lalgola, Ranaghat & Naihati stations in West Bengal.
Berhampore Court is a railway station on the Sealdah–Ranaghat–Krishnanagar–Berhampore–Lalgola line and is located in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Baharampur city and the surrounding rural areas.
Halisahar railway station is the railway station in the town of Halisahar. It serves the local areas of Halisahar in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India.
The Sealdah–Bangaon line connects Sealdah and Bangaon in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is connected to the Sealdah–Ranaghat line at Dum Dum Junction, the Barasat–Hasnabad line at Barasat Junction and the Bangaon–Ranaghat line at Bangaon Junction. This line has change-over facilities with both the Kolkata Metro and the Kolkata Circular Railway at Dum Dum Junction and with the Kolkata Metro at Dum Dum Cantonment. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway.