Mughalsarai–Kanpur section

Mughalsarai–Kanpur section
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Gangetic Plain in Uttar Pradesh
Termini	Mughalsarai Junction Kanpur Central
Operation
Opened	1859 (partial, locally) 1866 (through main line)
Owner	Indian Railway
Operator(s)	North Central Railway for main line North Eastern Railway and Northern Railway for certain branch lines
Depot(s)	Mughalsarai and Kanpur
Rolling stock	WDM-2, WDM-3A and WDS-5 diesel locos; WAM-4, WAP-4 and WAG-7 electric locos
Technical
Track length	Main line: 346 km (215 mi) Branch lines: Varanasi-Allahabad City 130 km (81 mi) Varanasi-Phaphamau 122 km (76 mi) Allahabad-Kanpur via Unnao249 km (155 mi)
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Electrification	25kV 50Hz AC OHLE in 1968
Operating speed	up to 160 km/h

Mughalsarai–Kanpur section

Legend to Farukhabad Kanpur Anwarganj to Kanpur–Delhi section Govindpuri 194 249 Kanpur Junction and Kanpur Central Ganges 245 Kanpur Bridge Left Bank 238 Magarwar 231 Unnao to Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway 190 Chandari 183 Chakeri Kanpur Airport 176 Rooma 172 Sirsaul 166 Prempur 160 Karbigwan 154 Aung 148 Bundki Road 140 Kanspur Gugauli 133 Malwan 123 Kurasti Kalan 220 Korari 216 Achalganj 194 Band Hamirpur 179 Tikauli Rawatpur 173 Kulha Halt 169 Bighapur 157 Indemau 155 Takia 149 Baiswara 143 Raghuraj Singh 138 Nihasta Halt 130 Lalganj 124 Bahal 116 Dalmau to Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line 111 Bara Buzurg 106 Jalalpur Dhal 100 Manjhlepur 96 Ishardaspur to Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line 85 Unchahar Feroze Gandhi Unchahar TPP 83 Arkha 74 Pariawan Kalakankar Road 68 Garhi Manikpur 55 Kunda Harnamganj 48 Bhadri 41 Lalgopalganj 34 Ramchaura Road 117 Fatehpur NH 34 111 Ramya 106 Faizillapur 97 Rasulabad 90 Sath Narayani 82 Khaga 75 Katoghan 69 Kanwar 64 Athsarai 57 Sirathu 47 Sujaatpur 42 Bidnapur State Highway 94 37 Bharwari 29 Manoharganj 22 Saiyid Sarwan 27 Atrampur 20 Sarai Gopal to Allahabad-Faizabad line 13 122 Phaphamau Curzon bridge across the Ganges 6 Prayag State Highway 95 17 Manauri Allahabad Airport 4 Subedarganj NH 2 0 152 Allahabad 130 Allahabad City (Rambagh) 126 Daraganj Izat Bridge across Ganges Old Naini Bridge across Yamuna 145 Naini to Allahabad–Jabalpur section 143 Cheoki 134 Karchana 125 Bheerpur Tamsa River 121 Jhusi NH 2 112 Ramnathpur NH 2 101 Saidabad Mogaraw NH 2 94 Handia Khas 86 Bhitki 83 Atraura 80 Gyanpur Road 69 Jangiganj 67 Sarai Jagdish 57 Almaw 51 Ahimanpur 47 Madhosingh 39 Katka 32 Kachwa Road 26 Nigatpur Baharawa Halt 18 Raja Talab 12 Hardattpur 99 Phulpur 90 Ugrasenpur Baryaram to Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line 76 Janghai 70 Sarai Kansrai 60 Suriawan 53 Mondh 45 Bhadohi 37 Parsipur 28 Kapseti 23 Shewpuri Lohta 16 Chuakhandi 6 Bhulanpur Diesel Locomotive Works 4 Manduadih Railway Loco Workshop to Varanasi–Lucknow line 0 Varanasi Varanasi City to Aunrihar 11 Kashi Malviya Bridge across Ganges 114 Meja Road 108 Unchdih 98 Manda Road 89 Jigna 82 Gaipura 75 Birohe 70 Vindhyachal 63 Mirzapur 55 Jhingura 47 Pahara 39 Dagmagpur 32 Chunar to Billibari 22 Kailahat 14 Ahraura Road 10 Jeonathpur Road 6 Vyaspur 0 Mughalsarai Mughalsarai mashalling yard to Gaya–Mughalsarai section to Patna-Mughalsarai section Source: Google maps Mughal Sarai Allahabd Passenger 54105 Mughalsarai-Varanasi Passenger 54267 Varanasi-Allahabad 561 NR Bundelkhand Epress 11108 Allahabad Kanpur Central Passenger 54101

The Mughalsarai–Kanpur section is a railway line connecting Mughalsarai Junction and Kanpur Central. This 346 km (215 mi) track is part of the Howrah-Delhi main line and Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line. The main line is under the jurisdiction of North Central Railway. Mughalsarai is under the jurisdiction of East Central Railway. Some branch lines are under the jurisdiction of the North Eastern Railway and Northern Railway.

Geography

The main line was laid in the Gangetic Plain, south of the Ganges.^[1][2] Between Naini and Allahabad, it crosses the Yamuna and enters the doab region or the inland peninsula between the Ganges and Yamuna, still keeping south of the Ganges.^[3]

Some branch lines came up on the northern side of the Ganges and got interlinked as bridges came up across the Ganges.^[2]

Two places on these tracks are major pilgrimage centres – Allahabad on the main line and Varanasi, a little off the main line, on a branch line. Varanasi is connected by rail to places throughout India.^[4][5] The railways make special arrangements for the huge influx of pilgrims for the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad.^[6]

The railways played a major role in the development of Kanpur as an industrial centre.^[7]

The 1050 MW Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Plant, in this section, consumed 5,022,000 tonnes of coal in 2006-07, which was transported by the railways.^[8]

History

The East Indian Railway Company initiated efforts to develop a railway line from Howrah to Delhi in the mid nineteenth century. Even when the line to Mughalsarai was being constructed and only the lines near Howrah were put in operation, the first train ran from Allahabad to Kanpur in 1859 and the Kanpur-Etawah section was opened to traffic in the 1860s. For the first through train from Howrah to Delhi in 1864, coaches were ferried on boats across the Yamuna at Allahabad. With the completion of the Old Naini Bridge across the Yamuna through trains started running in 1865-66.^[9][10][11]

In 1867, the Indian Branch Railway Company opened the Kanpur-Lucknow line.^[9]

The construction of the Dufferin Bridge (later renamed Malviya Bridge), across the Ganges, in 1887, connected Mughalsarai and Varanasi.^[12]

The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway opened the line from Varanasi to Lucknow in 1872.^[12]

The opening of the Curzon Bridge, across the Ganges, in 1902, linked Allahabad to regions north of or beyond the Ganges.^[13]

The Varanasi-Allahabad City (Rambagh) line was constructed as a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) wide metre gauge line by the Bengal and North Western Railway between 1899 and 1913. It was converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) wide broad gauge in 1993-94.^[14][15]

Electrification

Electrification in the Mughalsarai-Kanpur sector started in 1964-65 with the Mughalsarai-Dagmagpur section. In 1965-66, Mughalsarai Yard was electrified, along with the Dagmagpur-Cheoki and the Cheoki-Subedarganj sections. The Subedarganj-Manoharganj-Athasarai-Kanspur Gugauli-Panki and Chandari loops were electrified in 1966-67. Kanpur-Panki was electrified in 1968-69.^[16] The entire Mughalsarai-Allahabad-Kanpur section is considered to have been electrified with AC overhead line in 1968.^[17]

The Kanpur-Kanpur Bridge-Unnao-Lucknow section was electrified in 1999-2000.^[16]

As of 2012, electrification work was in progress in the Varanasi-Lohta-Janghai-Phaphamau-Unchahar and the Phaphamau-Prayag-Allahabad sections.^[18]

Railway reorganisation

Around 1872, the Indian Branch Railway Company was transformed into Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway.^[9][19][20] Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was merged with East Indian Railway Company in 1925.^[21]

The Government of India took over the Bengal and North-Western Railway and merged it with the Rohilkhand and Kumaon Railway to form the Oudh and Tirhut Railway in 1943.^[22]

In 1952, Eastern Railway, Northern Railway and North Eastern Railway were formed. Eastern Railway was formed with a portion of East Indian Railway Company, east of Mughalsarai and Bengal Nagpur Railway. Northern Railway was formed with a portion of East Indian Railway Company west of Mughal Sarai, Jodhpur Railway, Bikaner Railway and Eastern Punjab Railway. North Eastern Railway was formed with Oudh and Tirhut Railway, Assam Railway and a portion of Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway.^[23] East Central Railway was created in 1996-97.^[24] North Central Railway was formed in 2003.^[25]

Sheds and workshops

Mughal Sarai diesel loco shed is home to WDM-2, WDM-3A and WDS-5 diesel locos. There was a Northern Railway diesel loco shed at Mughalsarai. It was decommissioned in 2001. Mughalsarai electric loco shed can hold more than 150 electric locos. Amongst them are WAM-4, WAP-4 and more than 70 WAG-7 locos. Kanpur Central electric loco shed accommodates WAP-4 and WAG-7 electric locos.^[26]

The largest wagon repair workshop of Indian Railways is located at Mughalsarai. There are engineering workshops at Allahabad.^[26]

Marshalling yard

Mughalsarai marshalling yard is the largest in Asia.^[27][28][29] It is 12.5 km long and handles around 1, 500 wagons daily. Wagon handling has come down after the railways discontinued piecemeal loading. At its peak, it handled 5,000 wagons a day.^[27][30] The Mughalsarai marshalling yard is located at 25°17′20″N 83°08′22″E / 25.288796°N 83.139435°E.

Speed limits

The entire Howrah-Delhi line, via Howrah-Bardhaman chord and Grand Chord is classified as a "Group A" line which can take speeds up to 160 km/h.^[31]

Passenger movement

Mughalsarai Junction, Allahabad and Kanpur Central on the main line, and Varanasi Junction on a branch line are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.^[32]

References

1. The Indian Empire — Its People, History and Products, by Sir William Wilson Hunter, page 546, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, First published 1886. OCLC 224519160.
2. Manning, Ian. "The Rohilkhand and Kumaon". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
3. "History of Allahabad" (PDF). Retrieved 30 May 2013.
4. "Varanasi". Trip to India. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
5. "Varanasi". Target Tours. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
6. "Railways puts in place arrangements to check rush of Maha Kumbh pilgrims". Times of India, 25 February 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
7. Planning and Development of an Industrial Town: A Study of Kanpur by S.N.Singh, page 38, Mittal Publications, New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-7099-241-7
8. "Coal supply to various power stations" (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2013.
9. "IR History: Early History (1832-1869)". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
10. "Allahabad Division: A Historical Perspective". North Central Railway. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
11. "Railways enter 159th year of its journey". The Times of India, 12 April 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
12. "IR History: Early Days II (1870-1899)". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
13. "India Office Select Materials". Retrieved 24 May 2013.
14. "Indian Railway History – North Eastern Railway" (PDF). Former Bengal & North Western Railway lines. Wordpress. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
15. "Varanasi Division". North Eastern Railway. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
16. "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
17. "IR History: IV (1947-1970)". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
18. "Brief on Railway Electrification". Central Organisation for Railway Electrification. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
19. "The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway" (PDF). Old Martinian Association. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
20. "Indian Branch Railway". fibis. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
21. "IR History III : (1900-1947)". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
22. "Bengal and North-Western Railway". fibis. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
23. "Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
24. "East Central Railway". ECR. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
25. "North Central Railway". NCR. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
26. "Sheds and workshops". IRFCA. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
27. "Freight Sheds and Mashalling Yards". IRFCA. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
28. "General Information" (PDF). East Central Railway. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
29. "Mughalsarai: Tracks to Nowhere". Outlook India, 8 January 2001. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
30. "Marshalling Yards". Indian Railway Employee. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
31. "Chapter II – The Maintenance of Permanent Way". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 May 201. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
32. "Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry". Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways. IRFCA. Retrieved 30 May 2013.