Shilpi at 11:41, 31 December 2025

2025-12-31T11:41:19Z

>दिपक पटेकर at 06:32, 18 August 2021

2021-08-18T06:32:28Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox Mountain Pass
|name = {{Big|बोर घाट}}<hr/>{{Small|Bhor Ghat}}
|photo = Bhor Ghat (1870).jpg
|photo_width = 280px
|photo_caption = Bhor Ghat in 1870
| map= India Maharashtra
| map_size=
| lat_d =
| long_d =
| map_caption=Location of Bhor Ghat
| traversed =
| location = [[States and Territories of India|Maharashtra]], India
| range = [[Sahyadri]]
|coordinates = {{coord|18.46|N|73.22|E|type:pass_region:IN}}
|elevation = {{convert|622|m|ft}}<ref>Google Earth</ref>
}}
'''Bhor Ghat''',<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yUhvfR1S_UEC&pg=PA36&dq=Bhor+Ghat The Indian Empire By William Wilson Hunter, p. 36]
</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/KOLABA/gen_phy_features.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501013616/http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/KOLABA/gen_phy_features.html |archive-date=2008-05-01 }}</ref> is a mountain passage located between {{rws|Palasdari}} and {{rws|Khandala}} for railway and between [[Khopoli]] and [[Khandala]] on the road route in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]], situated on the crest of the [[Western Ghats]].

==History==
In February 1781, Bhorghat was the site of a battle between the [[Maratha Empire]] centered in [[Pune]] and the foreign powers in [[Mumbai]]. The dispatched a large force to capture Pune, which had to pass through the Bhorghat pass, where they were intercepted by Maratha forces. In the battle that ensued, the Marathas inflicted a crushing defeat on the British in what would be known as the Battle of Bhorghat.<ref>{{cite book|author=Venkatesh Rangan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uK7mDwAAQBAJ&q=Bhor+Ghat+1781&pg=PT134|title=The First Republic: The Untold True Story of the Imperial Karbhari Sarkar|publisher=Notion Press|year= 2020|isbn=9781648926600|pages=2777}}</ref>

The discovery of a route to make a motorable pass in Bhor Ghat came after information was provided by a local [[Dhangar]] tribesman called Shigroba. Later, the [[Great Indian Peninsula Railway]] laid a railway line from [[Mumbai]] to [[Pune]]. The section through Bhor Ghat with 28 tunnels, and old bridges was opened in 1863.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Balkwill|author2=Marshall, John|author2-link=John Marshall (railway historian)|title=The Guinness Book of Railway Facts and Feats|edition=6th|location=Enfield|publisher=Guinness Publishing|year=1993|isbn=978-0-85112-707-1|pages=66–7}}</ref> The Ghat opened Mumbai to the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] plains of Peninsular India.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=M.A.|title=Indian Railways|location=New Delhi|publisher=National Book Trust|date=1988|page=15}}</ref>

Building a railway over the Bhor ghat was an exercise in imperial engineering, as noted in an article in ''Engineering Magazine'' in 1899, where it was described as "a more certain and enduring form of attack than military power, and that the railway, the canal and harbour are the real weapons in the conquest of a colony."<ref name="Kerr"/> p. 347

The number of staff during construction increased from 10,000 in 1856, over 20,000 in 1857 to a peak of 42,000 in January 1861. The original incline included building 25 tunnels, eight arched masonry viaducts, blasting and removing of 54 [[million|mio]] cubic feet (1.5 mio m³) of hard rock and building embankments from 67.5 mio cubic feet (1.9 million m³) of material at a total cost of [[Pound Sterling|£]] 1,100,000, i.e. £70,000 per mile.<ref name="Kerr"/> p. 352

The project was marred by industrial unrest, disease and accidents. As many as 24,000 workers died during the project.<ref>{{cite news |last= Mishra|first= Kamal|date=14 March 2017|title=24,000 dead workers: Ghats have a hell station, and a story to tell|url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/24000-dead-workers-ghats-have-a-hell-station-and-a-story-to-tell/articleshow/57621653.cms|newspaper=Bangalore Mirror}}</ref> The first contractor awarded the section, [[William Frederick Faviell]], mistreated his workers and underpaid his subcontractors, leading to riots by the workers that resulted in the death of one of the European managers attempting to subdue the unrest. Following a Government investigation, Faviell's contract was taken away from him and granted to Solomon Tredwell, who arrived in 1859 to restart the works. Tredwell died within days, of dysentery or cholera. His wife, [[Alice Tredwell|Alice]] then took over the contract, completing it with success by 1863.<ref name="Wolmar2017">{{cite book|author=Christian Wolmar|title=Railways and The Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwErDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT53|year=2017|publisher=Atlantic Books|isbn=978-1-78239-766-3|pages=44–45}}</ref>

During the grand ceremony at the official opening, which was held at [[Khandala]] near the highest point of the incline on 21 April 1863, the governor of Bombay, Sir [[Bartle Frere]], gave a speech, in which he felt "assured, that in the future ages the works of our English engineers on these Ghats will take the place of those works of their demigods, the great [[Indian rock-cut architecture#Cave temples|cave temples]] of western India, which have so long, to the simple inhabitants of these lands, been the type of superhuman strength, and of more than mortal constructive skill."<ref name="Kerr"/> p. 351

==Rail==
{{Routemap
|title = Bhor Ghat
|collapse = <includeonly>yes</includeonly>
|map =
~~ Legend:
STRq ~~ ~~ [[Mumbai–Chennai line|Railway]]
RP2q ~~ ~~ [[National Highway 48 (India)|NH48/AH47]]
RP4q ~~ ~~ [[Mumbai Pune Expressway|Expressway]]
WASSERq ~~ ~~ [[River Ulhas]]
|map2 =
\\\\\vCONTg\\\WCONTg~~to {{BSsplit|{{stnlnk|Mumbai CST}}|(Via {{stnlnk|Panvel}}/{{stnlnk|Kalyan}})}}
\\\\\vHST\\\WASSER~~{{stnlnk|Palasdari}}
\\\\\vÜSTr\\\WASSER
\\\\STR+l\vABZgr-STR\\\WASSER
\\\\STR\vWBRÜCKE1\WASSERq\WABZq+l\WABZgr
\\\\STR\vWBRÜCKE1\WASSERq\WASSERr\WASSER
\\\\S+BHF\vSTR\\WASSER+l\WASSERr~~{{stnlnk|Kelavli}}
\\\\STR\vTUNNEL2\\WASSER\
\\\\STR\vBRÜCKE1\\WASSER\
\\\\STR\vTUNNEL2\\WASSERl\WASSER+r
\\\\S+BHF\vSTR\\\WASSER~~{{stnlnk|Dolavli}}
\\\\STR\vTUNNEL2\WASSER+l\WASSERq\WASSERr
\\\\S+BHF\vSTR\WASSER\\~~{{stnlnk|Lowjee}}
\\\\STR\vTUNNEL2\WASSERl\WASSER+r\
\\\\STR\vHST\\WASSER\~~Thakurvadi
\CONTg grey\\CONTg grey\STR\vTUNNEL2-STR\\WASSER\~~to [[Mumbai]] (Via [[Panvel]])
\RP4\\RP2t\KS+BHFe\vSTR\WASSER+l\WASSERr\~~[[Khopoli]]
RP1+l\RP4xRP1\RP1q\RP2wRP1\\vTUNNEL2-STR\WASSER\\
RP1l\RP4wRP1\\RP1\\vTUNNEL2\WASSER\\
\RP4\\RP1\\vTUNNEL2\WASSERl\WASSER+r\
RP2+l\RP2yRP4new\RP2+r\RP1\\vTUNNEL2-STR\\WASSER\
tRP2ae\\RP2\RP1\\vSTR\\WASSER\~~ {{BSsplit|One way tunnel on Expressway| from Khandala to Khopoli}}
RP2l\RP2yRP4sew\RP2rf\RP1\\vTUNNEL2\\WASSER\
\RP4\\RP1\exvENDEaq\vABZgr\\WASSER\~~Catch Sliding
\RP4l\RP4swRP1\RP1xRP4\RP4K+r\vHST\\WASSERl\WCONTfq~~[[Monkey Hill railway station|Monkey Hill (halt)]]
\\RP1\RP1yRP2\RP4\vSTR\\\
\\RP1l\RP2wRP1\RP4\tvSTRa\\\
\\\RP2l\RP4uRP2\tvSKRZ-G2h\RP2q\RP2q\RP2+r
\\\\RP4Kl\vSKRZ-G4h\RP4q\RP4+r\RP2
\\\\\tvSTRe\\RP4\RP2
\\\\\vSTR\\tRP4a\RP2~~[[File:BSicon numN090.svg|20px]]
\\\\\vTUNNEL2\RP2+l\RP4uRP2\RP2rf
\\\\\vTUNNEL2\tRP2ae\tRP4e\~~Khandala Tunnel (2.304 Km)
\\\\\vHST\RP2t\RP4\~~[[Khandala]]
\\\\\vCONTf\CONTf grey\CONTf grey\~~to [[Pune]]
~~km~~
}}
The '''Bhor Ghat Railway''' is a part of the [[Mumbai–Chennai line]] and cuts a distance of 21 km between {{stnlnk|Khandala}} and {{stnlnk|Palasdari}}. There are 28 tunnels across the railway ghat.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} This ghat comes under the proposed [[Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India|Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridors]]. During construction of this ghat almost 25,000 workers lost their lives due to steepness of this ghat.<ref name="Kerr">Ian Kerr:
[http://www.hms.civil.uminho.pt/events/railroads2011/361_373.pdf The Building of the Bhor Ghat Railway Incline in Western India in the mid-19th Century.]</ref> p. 343 Initially steam traction was used to haul trains across this ghat. In 1929–30 the [[Great Indian Peninsula Railway]] electrified Mumbai – Pune section with a 1.5 kV DC system. This led to end of steam era on this ghat. The electrification system of the Mumbai – Pune section completed its conversion to a 25 kV 50 Hz AC system in June 2015.

The first DC locomotives were EF/1 class locomotives (later classified as WCG1) for freight trains. Later Express trains were hauled by EA/1 class locomotives (later classified as WCP1).<ref>[http://www.irfca.org/articles/electric-1.html A Brief History of Railway Electrification in India]</ref>

;Reversing Station
There used to be a reversing station on this ghat which trains of [[Great Indian Peninsula Railway|Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR)]] used earlier. This was shut down due to new tunnels on the ghat.<ref>[http://www.irfca.org/apps/trip_reports/show/28 Bhor Ghat Reversing station]</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2017}} The reversing station was located between {{stnlnk|Monkey Hill}} and {{stnlnk|Khandala}} after tunnel no. 26. During night time lights of [[Khopoli]] can be seen from here.<ref>[http://www.mapsofindia.com/khandala/tourism/reversing-station.html Khandala Reversing Station]</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2017}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:65%;"
|-
! colspan="7" | '''Railway stations on Bhor Ghat'''
|-
! style="width:1%;" rowspan="2"|#
! style="width:3%;" colspan="3"|Station Name
! style="width:5%;" rowspan="2"|Description
! style="width:2%;" rowspan="2"|km
|-
! English|| [[Marathi language|Marathi]]|| Station code
|-
|1||{{stnlnk|Palasdari}}||पळसदरी|| PDI ||Start|| 0
|-
|2||{{stnlnk|Thakurvadi}}||ठाकुरवाडी|| TKW ||Minor Halt|| 9
|-
|3||{{stnlnk|Monkey Hill}}||मंकी हिल|| MNLC ||Technical Halt, no tickets issued|| 16
|-
|4||{{stnlnk|Khandala}}||खंडाळा||KAD ||End|| 21
|}

==Road==
The road ghat lies between [[Khopoli]] and [[Khandala]] and is 18 km long. There are six lanes on the Mumbai – Pune express highway and four lanes on the old Mumbai–Pune road. There is a proposal to dig two four-lane tunnels between Khalapur toll booth near Khopoli and Sinhagad institute, Lonavala to bypass this ghat on Mumbai – Pune express-way which will be expanded from six-lane to eight-lane road. Similarly, old Mumbai – Pune highway will use the existing express highway route and will be expanded from four to six lanes. This will also reduce the distance on express highway by 6 km i.e. from 18 km to 12 km.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/14-lanes-12-km-bypass-to-speed-up-Mumbai-Pune-expressway-traffic/articleshow/46138554.cms 14 lanes, 12-km bypass to speed up Mumbai–Pune expressway traffic]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Thal Ghat]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Bhor Ghat}}
{{Mountain passes of India}}
{{Railways in Western India}}

[[Category:Lonavala-Khandala]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Geography of Raigad district]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Rail mountain passes of India]]

Bhor Ghat - Revision history

Shilpi at 11:41, 31 December 2025

>दिपक पटेकर at 06:32, 18 August 2021