Sealdah–Ranaghat line

Sealdah–Ranaghat line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railway
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	Sealdah Ranaghat
Stations	25
Website	Eastern Railway
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Kolkata Suburban Railway
Operator(s)	Eastern Railway
Depot(s)	Sealdah Ranaghat
Daily ridership	1 million
History
Opened	1862;159 years ago (1862)
Technical
Line length	74 km (46 mi)
Number of tracks	4 up to Naihati Junction; 2 then onward
Character	At grade
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	25 kV overhead line
Operating speed	up to 100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map Legend km Lalgola branch line Gede branch line 74 Ranaghat Ranaghat–Bangaon line National Highway 34 km 68 Payradanga 62 Chakdaha Kalyani Simanta 53 60 Palpara Kalyani Ghoshpara 52 58 Simurali Kalyani Silpanchal 50 53 Madanpur to Katwa 48 Kalyani Howrah–Bardhaman main line to Bardhaman 46 Kanchrapara 46 Kanchrapara Workshop Gate Bandel 42 Halisahar Howrah–Bardhaman main line to Howrah Howrah–Bardhaman chord Hooghly Ghat Dankuni 22 Jubilee Bridge across Hooghly River Garifa National Highway 6 National Highway 2 38 Naihati to Santragachi 36 Kankinara Belanagar 34 Jagaddal Rajchandrapur 18 31 Shyamnagar Belghoria Expressway 27 Ichhapur Bally Halt 16 25 Palta Howrah–Bardhaman main line ← Howrah │ Bardhaman → 23 Barrackpore Grand Trunk Road 21 Titagarh Bally Ghat 15 19 Khardaha Vivekananda Setu across Hooghly River 16 Sodpur Dakshineswar 14 14 Agarpara Baranagar Road 12 12 Belgharia Belghoria Expressway Belghoria Expressway Sealdah–Bangaon line 7 Dum Dum Patipukur Kolkata Circular Railway Kolkata 4 Bidhannagar Road Sealdah North & Main 0 Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt Sealdah South 0 Park Circus 3 Sealdah South lines km km Sources: Google maps Indian Railway Time Table

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.

History

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]

Naihati station

The busy market area near Dum Dum railway station.

The name board at Ranaghat station

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.

See also: Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line and Chilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana line

Looking back

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]

Tracks

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]

Electrification

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]}

Passengers

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]

Trains

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]

References

1. R.P. Saxena. "Indian Railway History timeline". IRFCA. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
2. "The Chronology of Railway development in Eastern Indian". railindia. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
3. J.H.E.Garrett. "Nadia, Bengal District Gazetteers (1910)". IRFCA . Retrieved 10 February 2012.
4. "Mamata flags off railway project at Ranaghat". The Statesman, 8 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
5. "Permanent Way – Track Classification". IRFCA . Retrieved 10 February 2012.
6. "History of Electrification". IRFCA . Retrieved 10 February 2012.
7. "Few Toilets at Howrah, Sealdah". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
8. "Puri Duronto to merge railway zones". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 February 2012.