Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line

Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line including Adra-Gomoh and Tatanagar-Badampahar branch lines
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	West Bengal, Jharkhand
Termini	Asansol Kharagpur
Operation
Opened	1891 onwards
Owner	Indian Railway
Operator(s)	South Eastern Railway
Technical
Track gauge	Broad gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1961-63 with 25 kV AC overhead line

Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line
Legend
km km Bokaro Steel Plant (Steel Authority of India Limited)   Bokaro Airport  to Gomoh-Muri line  Bokaro Steel City  to Gomoh-Muri line  Ispat Nagar   to Bardhaman-Asansol section Chas  000 Asansol to Grand Chord   to Asansol-Gaya section of Grand Chord Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh   005 Burnpur Burnpur Airport Mahuda    IISCO Steel Plant (Steel Authority of India Limited) Damodar River   to Kalipahari (freight line) Talgora   Colliery sidings Shewbabudih  011 Damodar to Sudamdih Jharia Coalfield rail network    Damodar River 71 Bhojudih  016 Madhukunda West Bengal Jharkhand border  023 Muradi Santaldih Thermal Power Station (W. Bengal Power Development Corp. Ltd.)    Parbeliya Colliery 64 Santaldih  028 Ramkanali 56 Rukni  033 Bero 49 Sanka  038 Joychandi Pahar 42 Adra  042 Adra  to Adra-Kharagpur line to Gomoh-Muri line  049 Gardhrubeswar Kotshila  056 Anara Garhjaipur  062 Bagalia Chas Road  065 Kushfaur Gourinathdham  073 Charrah Charra Airfield (abandoned) 080 Purulia  Kangsabati River 087 Tamnah 095 Kantadih 103 Urma 111 Barabhum 117 Biramdih   West Bengal Jharkhand border 125 Nimdih to Tatanagar-Barkakana line  133 Chandil 138 Manikul  Subarnarekha River 143 Kunki 147 Kandra to Tatanagar-Bilaspur section  Sini   Birrajpur Birbans  158 Gamharia 165 Adityapur  Kharkai River  Sonari Airport 170 Tatanagar    Jamshedpur Steel Plant (Tata Steel) Haldipokhar    Jamshedpur Plant (Tata Motors) Jharkhand Odisha border   Asanbani Bahalda Road   Rakha Mines Aonlajhari   Subarnarekha River  Mahulia Gorumahisani   Ghatshila Gorumahisani Iron Ore Mines (Tata Steel)    Dhalbhumgarh Rairangpur   Kokpara Kuldiha   ChakuliaChakulia Airport Chhanua    West Bengal Jharkhand border Badampahar Iron Ore Mines   Gidhni Badampahar   Jhargram  Sardha  Khemasuli  Kalaikunda Kalaikunda Air Force Station  to Adra-Kharagpur line  Nimpura to Kharagpur-Puri line   Kharagpur  to Howrah-Kharagpur line km km

The Asansol–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-Gomoh branch line and Tatanagar-Badampahar branch lines.

History

The Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line, a joint effort of Great Indian Peninsula Railway and East Indian Railway Company came up in 1870.^[1] The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah-Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad.^[2] The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol, on the Howrah-Delhi main line, was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891.^[3] However, it was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900.^[4]

The closing years of the 19th century and the opening years of the 20th century were momentous for the area. 800 miles of East Coast Railway was built and opened for traffic between 1893 and 1896. The most vital sections of Bengal Nagpur Railway, Sini-Kharagpur-Kolaghat and Kharagpur-Cuttack, were opened to traffic in 1898-99. The Purlia-Ranchi branch was opened for traffic on 15 November 1907. BNR lines were extended to Gomoh, on EIR’s main line, in 1907. The Mohuda-Chandrapura branch line was opened in 1913.^[3]

A 40-mile branch line from Tatanagar to Gorumahisani was opened to traffic in 1911 mainly for transportation of iron ore.^[3]

The Purulia-Ranchi line was opened as a narrow gauge railway of BNR in 1907.^[5]

A MEMU train travelling on the bridge across Damodar River

Railway reorganization

The Bengal Nagpur Railway was nationalized in 1944.^[3]Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway.^[6] In 1955, South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier.^[6][7]

Steel plants and freight traffic

India’s first integrated steel plant, Tata Steel’s plant at Jamshedpur, became operational in 1908.^[8]IISCO Steel Plant was established at Burnpur in 1918.^[9]Steel Authority of India’s Durgapur Steel Plant was established in the late fifties,^[10] and Bokaro Steel Plant became operational in the seventies.^[11]

Although the Asansol-Gaya section of Grand Chord and Bardhaman-Asansol section of Howrah-Delhi main line serves as the principal links for Jharia Coalfield and Raniganj Coalfield this line also links to both the coalfields.

With four steel plants served by these lines South Eastern Railway transports bulk of the raw materials like coal and iron ore used by the steel industry. It loaded 61.24 million tonnes during the period April to September 2012.^[12][13] Indian Railway handled 456 million tonnes of coal in 2011-12. It was the single largest item of freight traffic. It handled 104.71 million tonnes of Iron ore in 2011-12.^[14]

Electrification

The Asansol-Purulia, Purulia-Chakradharpur, Kandra-Gamharria and Sini-Adityapur sectors were electrified in 1961-62. The Tatanagar-Kharagpur sector was electrified in 1962-63.^[15]

Passenger movement

Asansol, Tatanagar and Kharagpur, on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.^[16]

References

1. "IR History: Early Days – II". Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1870 - 1899). Retrieved 27 October 2012.
2. "Number 1 Down Mail". Railways of the Raj. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
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.
4. R. P. Saxena. "Indian Railway History Time line". Irse.bravehost.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
5. "IR History: Part - III (1900 - 1947)". IRFCA. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
6. "Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
7. "IR History: Part - IV (1947 - 1970)". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
8. "A Century of Trust". Tata Steel. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
9. "IISCO Steel Plant". Steel Authority of India Limited. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
10. "Durgapur Steel Plant". Steel Authority of India Limited. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
11. "Bokaro Steel Plant". Steel Authority of India Limited. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
12. "South Eastern Railway reports 2.34% growth in freight loading in April-September 2012". The Economic Times, 4 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
13. "Iron ore helps South Eastern Rly cross freight target". The Hindu Business Line, 19 August 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
14. Sanyal, Santanu. "Coal continues to top Railway's freight list". The Hindu Business Line, 9 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
15. "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
16. "Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry". Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways. IRFCA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2012.

External links