New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section

2025-08-25T17:48:01Z

2405:201:8004:3834:60CB:EF14:22CB:5BF4: minor improve structure for accuracy further and fixed typos for consistency

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Short description|Railway Line in Assam, India}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width = 28em
| name = New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section (including Dudhnoi-Mendipathar branch line)
| color =
| logo =
| logo_width =
| image = ৰঙিয়া জংচন.jpg
| image_width =
| caption = Rangiya Junction an important railway station on New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section
| type =
| system =
| status = Operational
| locale = [[Assam]]
| start = [[New Bongaigaon railway station|New Bongaigaon]]
| end = [[Guwahati Junction railway station|Guwahati]]
| stations = 24
| routes =
| open = 1962
| close =
| owner = [[Indian Railways]]
| operator = [[Northeast Frontier Railway Zone (India)|Northeast Frontier Railway]]
| character =
| depot =
| stock =
| linelength = {{convert|157.8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}(via Rangiya) & {{convert|182.7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}(via Goalpara)
| tracklength =
| gauge = {{Track gauge|5ft6in|lk=on}} [[broad gauge]]
| minradius =
| racksystem =
| speed = {{cvt|110|km/h}}
| electrification = Yes
| elevation =
| website =
| map = {{Guwahati–New Bongaigaon section|inline=1}}
| map_state = collapsed
}}

The '''New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section''' of the [[Barauni–Guwahati line]] connects [[New Bongaigaon railway station|New Bongaigaon]] and [[Guwahati Junction railway station|Guwahati]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Assam]].

==History==

===Early developments within Assam===
The Assam Railway and Trading Company played a pioneering role in laying railway tracks in Assam. The Assam Railway and Trading Company Limited was incorporated in 1881. The first metre-gauge locomotive was put into service in Assam in 1882. The 64-kilometre (40 mi)-long line from Dibrugarh steamer ghat to Makum was opened to passenger traffic on 16 July 1883. The objective of opening an isolated railway in upper Assam was to link the tea gardens and coalfields to the steamer ghats. In the latter part of the 19th century, the Dibru–Sadiya railway was 149-kilometre (93 mi) long.The 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)-wide metre-gauge railway track earlier laid by Assam Bengal Railway from Chittagong to Lumding was extended to Tinsukia on the Dibru–Sadiya line in 1903. <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/engir/History1.htm |title= Northeast Frontier Railway |accessdate= 2012-01-21 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140502032906/http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/engir/History1.htm |archivedate= 2 May 2014 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

===Assam links pre-independence===
During British rule, rail links from Assam to the rest of India were through the eastern part of Bengal. In pre-independence days, there were basically two linkages. On the western side, a metre gauge line running via [[Radhikapur railway station|Radhikapur]], [[Biral railway station|Biral]], [[Parbatipur railway station|Parbatipur]], Tista, [[Gitaldaha railway station|Gitaldaha]] and [[Golokganj railway station|Golokganj]] connected [[Fakiragram railway station|Fakiragram]] in Assam with [[Katihar railway station|Katihar]] in Bihar.<ref name=faq-inter>{{cite web |url=https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-inter.html |title=Geography - International |work=IRFCA |accessdate=2011-12-10 }}</ref> On the eastern side, Assam was linked to [[Chittagong]] through the [[Akhaura–Kulaura–Chhatak line]] and [[Akhaura–Laksam–Chittagong line]]. Assam was linked to numerous other towns in the eastern part of Bengal through what is now the [[Mahisasan]]-Shahbajpur defunct transit point. The eastern line had been constructed in response to the demand of the Assam tea planters for a railway link to [[Port of Chittagong|Chittagong port]]. [[Assam Bengal Railway]] started construction of a railway track on the eastern side of [[Bengal]] in 1891. A {{convert|150|km}} track between [[Chittagong]] and [[Comilla]] was opened to traffic in 1895. The Comilla-Akhaura-Kulaura-Badarpur section was opened in 1896-1898 and finally extended to [[Lumding]] in 1903.<ref name=banglapaedia >{{cite book |last=Fida |first=Quazi Abul |year=2012 |chapter=Railway |chapter-url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Railway |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pL_GfLfK3lYC&pg=PA46 |title = Report on the administration of North East India (1921-22) |work= p. 46|year = 1984 | accessdate = 2011-12-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7OsLGZKYP5MC&pg=PA105 |title = Socio Economic and Political Problems of Tea Garden Workers: A Study of Assam, Published 2006, ISBN 81-8324-098-4|work=p. 105 | last= S.N.Singh, Amarendra Narain, Purnendu Kumar|date = January 2006|publisher= Mittal Publications, New Delhi |isbn = 9788183240987| accessdate = 2011-12-16 }}</ref> The Assam Bengal Railway constructed a branch line to Guwahati, connecting the city to the eastern line in 1900. Apart from the eastern and western lines, there was another link. In 1908, [[Eastern Bengal Railway]] extended the Kaunia–Dharlla line to Amingaon. During the 1900–1910 period, the Eastern Bengal Railway built the Golakganj-Amingaon branch line, thus connecting the western bank of the Brahmaputra to the western line. In 1904, The Mariani–Furkating line wa made & it was operated by Jorhat-Provincial Railway. In 1937, the British also planned Guwahati-Dhaka line in Meter Gauge which was slated to connect Guwahati with Dewanganj Upazila(Bangladesh) as Dewangaunge was already connected with Dhaka via Mymensingh by a 259-kilometre (161 mi) long Meter Gauge line. The 323-kilometre (201 mi) long Railway Guwahati-Dewanganj project was scrapped in 1943-1947 period owing to Second World War, Indian National Army defeating the British & partition of India.

===Assam Link Project===
With the partition of India in 1947 & Independence, all the three links were lost and for a short period the railway system in Assam was delinked from the rest of India. Indian Railways took up the Assam Link Project in 1948 to build a rail link between [[Fakiragram]] and [[Kishanganj]]. Assam was connected with India through the newly laid Kishanganj-Fakirgram Railway line. The 300.1 kilometres (186.5 mi) Meter Gauge line was completed in 1950 under General Karnail Singh & General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya (Gen. KS Thimayya) of Indian Army..<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irse.bravehost.com/officialhistory.mht |title=Indian Railways History |work=Northeast Frontier Railway |publisher=IRSE |accessdate=2011-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235805/http://www.irse.bravehost.com/officialhistory.mht |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section was converted to {{Track gauge|5ft6in|lk=on}} [[broad gauge]]. Broad gauge reached Guwahati in 1984.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.hindu.com/businessline/2000/05/24/stories/142440h5.htm |title=Gauge conversion project in Assam |work=The Hindu Business Line |date=24 May 2000 |accessdate=2011-12-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/pro/CPRO1.HTM|title= Some Milestones of NF Railway|accessdate= 2012-01-28|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20111124125914/http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/pro/CPRO1.HTM|archivedate= 24 November 2011|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

===Saraighat Bridge===
The construction of the 1.49 km long [[Saraighat Bridge]], the first rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra, was an event of great excitement. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], India’s first prime minister formally laid the foundation stone on 10 January 1960 and it was completed in 1962, connecting the two parts of the metre gauge railways in Assam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|title=Bridges: The Spectacular Feat of Indian Railways|publisher=National Informatics Centre|accessdate=2012-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002840/http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Siliguri-Jogihopa-Kamakhya line===
The {{convert|265|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long {{Track gauge|5ft6in|lk=on}} [[broad gauge]] Siliguri-Jogihopa line was constructed between 1963 and 1965.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=v21-4YYgocUC&q=Muri-Chandrapura+line&pg=PA60 |title = Transport Geography of India: Commodity Flow and the Regional Structure of Indian Economy| work= page 60|author1=Moonis Raza |author2=Yash Aggarwal |year = 1986|name-list-style=amp |publisher= Concept Publishing Company, A-15/16 Commercial Block, Mohan Garden, New Delhi - 110059| isbn = 81-7022-089-0|accessdate = 2 May 2013}}</ref> The [[Naranarayan Setu]] was constructed in 1998, thereby paving the way for linking Jogihopa with Kamakhya.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://wiki.iricen.gov.in/doku/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=812:12.pdf|title= Model project on Construction of Naranarayana Setu over river Brahmaputra at Jogihopa|accessdate= 8 May 2013|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140414201110/http://wiki.iricen.gov.in/doku/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=812:12.pdf|archivedate= 14 April 2014|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Dudhnoi-Mendipathar branch line ===
The line between [[Dudhnoi railway station|Dudhnoi]] in [[Assam]] and Deepa in [[Meghalaya]] was proposed in the Rail budget of 1992–93. Later the alignment was changed to [[Dudhnoi railway station|Dudhnoi]]-[[Mendipathar railway station|Mendipathar]] in 2007 due to opposition of local people. Due to late handover of land to railways in Assam and Meghalaya, the progress of work was slow up to 2013. Acquisition of land was completed by March 2013.

This rail line is the first foray of [[Indian Railways]] into Meghalaya. [[Mendipathar railway station]] was inaugurated by the [[Prime minister of India]], [[Narendra Modi]] on 30 November 2014, through a video feed to the ceremony gathering at Mendipathar.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement showing Category-wise No. of stations in IR based on Pass. earning of 2011|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/StationRedevelopment/AI&ACategoryStns.pdf|accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref>

==Electrification==
Electrification of the entire Katihar–Guwahati route is planned to be executed by 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/railway-electrification-project-to-touch-north-east-soon/446665/ |title=Railway electrification project to touch North East soon | work= Business Standard |date=23 August 2011 |accessdate=2012-01-21 }}</ref>

{{wide image|sarania-hills-brahmaputra.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|View of the Brahmaputra valley from the Sarania Hills. The [[Saraighat Bridge]] can be seen near the horizon, the peaked [[Kamakhya Temple|Kamakhya Hills]] are to the left, and while [[Guwahati]] is on the left bank, on the right bank is [[North Guwahati]]. The Nehru stadium and the railway station are faintly visible, right bottom.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Railways in North-East India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Bongaigaon-Guwahati section}}
[[Category:5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Assam]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1962]]
[[Category:Transport in Guwahati]]
[[Category:Transport in Bongaigaon]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section