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{{short description|Indian railway zone}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name = Northeast Frontier Railway
| logo_filename = File:The logo of Northeast Frontier Railway - Flickr - Dr. Santulan Mahanta.jpg
| logo_size = 220px
| system_map = Indianrailwayzones-numbered.png
| map_caption = 3-Northeast Frontier Railway
| map_size =
| marks =
| image = File:Ghy Railway.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Guwahati railway station
| locale = [[Assam]], [[Nagaland]], [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]], [[Sikkim]], [[Manipur]], [[Mizoram]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Meghalaya]], [[Bihar]]
| start_year = {{start date and age|1958|1|15}}
| end_year =
| predecessor_line = North Eastern Railway
| successor_line =
| gauge = Broad gauge<br>Narrow gauge
| old_gauge = Metre gauge
| electrification =
| length =
| hq_city = [[Maligaon]], Guwahati
| website = {{url|http://www.nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/|North East Frontier Railway website}}
}}

The '''Northeast Frontier Railway''' (abbreviated NFR), is one of the [[Zones and divisions of Indian Railways|18 railway zones]] of the [[Indian Railways]]. It is headquartered in [[Maligaon]], [[Guwahati]] in the state of [[Assam]], and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across [[Northeast India|Northeastern]] states and some districts of eastern [[Bihar]] and northern [[West Bengal]].

==Divisions==
Northeast Frontier Railway is divided into 5 divisions:
* [[Katihar railway division]]
* [[Alipurduar railway division]]
* [[Lumding railway division]]
* [[Rangiya railway division]]
* [[Tinsukia railway division]]
Each of these divisions is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager, a Senior Administrative Grade officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India.
[[File:Guwahati Railway Station at Night.jpg|thumb|255px|[[Guwahati railway station]]]]
The departmental setup at headquarters level and divisional setup in the field assists the General Manager in running the railways. Various departments namely engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecom, operations, commercial, safety, accounts, security, personal and medical are headed by a Senior Administrative Grade / Higher Administrative Grade officer, provide technical and operational support to the divisions in train operations. Another division is being to be set up in [[Silchar]] by bifurcating Lumding division.

==History==
[[File:Alipurduar Railway Junction Station.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Alipurduar Junction railway station]]]]
In 1881, railway first came to [[North-East Frontier|Assam]] when Assam Railway and Trading Company set up metre gauge track. The 65-km-long metre gauge line from [[Dibrugarh]] to [[Margherita, Assam|Margherita]] was constructed mainly for transportation of tea and coal. This company later started the first passenger train in Assam by the name of [[Dibru–Sadiya Railway]].
The North Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating two railway systems: the Assam Railway and [[Oudh and Tirhut Railway]]. Later, it was bifurcated into two railway zones on 15 January 1958, the [[North Eastern Railway (India)|North Eastern Railway]] and the Northeast Frontier Railway.<ref>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-4</ref> to better serve the needs of the [[North-East India|northeastern]] states.

==Operational area==
[[File:Northeast India railway.png|thumb|Map of Northeast Frontier Railway zone railway lines]]
[[File:AGARTALA MAIN STATION.jpg|thumb|255px|[[Agartala railway station]]]]
[[File:DIBRUGARH RAILWAY STATION.jpg|thumb|255px|[[Dibrugarh railway station]]]]

[[File:Katihar Station.jpg|thumb|{{rws|Katihar Junction}}]]
The area of Northeast Frontier Railway operations is characterized by exceptional beauty and at the same time by some of the most arduous terrain. This difficult terrain limits the rail network expansion, and the only state with a decent rail network is Assam. The network is not [[broad gauge]] in many parts and the rail lines are antiquated with speeds at some sections being limited to a maximum of {{convert|30|km/h|0|abbr=on}}. Before the Saraighat Bridge was constructed, passengers had to get down on the [[Amingaon]] side of the [[Brahmaputra]] and take a ferry across to Pandu Junction from where they could resume their journey.
The majority of the tracks have been converted to BG and electrification is in process starting from Katihar till Guwahati.

===Major sections===
A few of the major sections under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone are:
*[[Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line]]
*[[New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section]]
*[[New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section]]
*[[Rangiya–Murkongselek section]]
*[[Guwahati–Lumding section]]
*[[Lumding–Dibrugarh section]]
*[[Silchar–Sabroom section]]
*[[Katihar–Siliguri line|Katihar–Siliguri section]]
*[[Katihar–Jogbani branch line]]

== Darjeeling Himalayan Railway ==
{{main|Darjeeling Himalayan Railway}}
[[File:Train-toy-final-2-720.jpg|thumb|260px|Darjeeling to Ghoom heritage narrow-gauge train]]
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is maintained and governed under the responsibility of Katihar division. It ascends {{convert|6850|ft}} from [[New Jalpaiguri railway station|New Jalpaiguri]]; the climb begins at Sukna, continues uninterruptedly to [[Ghum, West Bengal|Ghum]] ({{convert|7407|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and descends the final {{convert|5|mi}} to [[Darjeeling]]. After independence, India's partition resulted in the isolation of the Northeast region. Consequently, the DHR was merged into Assam Railways, it was closed for the construction of the Assam–Bengal link line and one of its extension lines to Kishanganj was converted to [[metre gauge]]. DHR's other extension line to Kalimpong was washed away due to floods. On reopening, the DHR was merged with [[North Eastern Railway zone|North Eastern Railway]] in 1952 and later into Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958.

The DHR achieved worldwide fame for many reasons such as:

* A gateway to the [[Himalayas]]
* The tiny four-wheeled [[steam locomotive]]s of the 19th century
* The curves, loops, "Z"s and steep grades crisscrossing the road

An interest in DHR all along has ensured that it continues to operate notwithstanding very heavy losses. The steam locomotive is an icon of this Railway. Tindharia workshop has kept 13 locomotives surviving, some of which are over 100 years old and the youngest is about 70 years old.

Timeline of DHR:

* 20 January 1948: Purchased by the Government of India
* 26 January 1948: Transferred to Assam Rail Link
* 26 January 1950: Transferred to Assam Railway
* 14 January 1952: Transferred to North Eastern Railway
* 15 January 1958: Transferred to Northeast Frontier Railway

[[File:Jan Shatabdi Express at Jorhat Town.jpg|thumb|180px|Jan Shatabdi Express]]
[[File:Kaziranga Express (SBC-Guwahati) at Khalor, West Bengal.jpg|thumb|180px|Kaziranga Express]]
[[File:Mahananda Express at Siliguri Town.jpg|thumb|180px|Mahananda Express]]

==Loco sheds==
* Diesel Loco Shed, Siliguri
* Diesel & Electric Loco Shed, Malda Town
* Diesel Loco Shed, New Guwahati City

==Major stations==
These are the major railway station which have large numbers of passenger frequencies and stoppages of trains in the zone.
{| {| class="wikitable"
|+ List of major railway stations in Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways
|-
! Sl. No. !! Name of station !! Station code !! Division
|-
| 1 || {{rws|Guwahati}} || GHY || Lumding
|-
| 2 || {{rws|Dimapur}} || DMV || Lumding
|-
| 3 || {{rws|Barpeta Road}} || BPRD || Rangiya
|-
| 4 || {{rws|Rangiya Junction}} || RNY || Rangiya
|-
| 5 || {{rws|Kamakhya Junction}} || KYQ || Lumding
|-
| 6 || {{rws|Hojai}} || HJI || Lumding
|-
| 7 || {{rws|Lumding Junction}} || LMG || Lumding
|-
| 8 || {{rws|Diphu}} || DPU || Lumding
|-
| 9 || {{rws|Mariani Junction}} || MXN || Tinsukia
|-
| 10 || {{rws|Badarpur Junction}} || BPB || Lumding
|-
| 11 || {{rws|Silchar}} || SCL || Lumding
|-
| 12 || {{rws|Dibrugarh}} || DBRG || Tinsukia
|-
| 13 || {{rws|New Tinsukia Junction}} || NTSK || Tinsukia
|-
| 14 || {{rws|Rangapara North Junction}} || RPAN || Rangiya
|-
| 15 || {{rws|New Bongaigaon Junction}} || NBQ || Rangiya
|-
| 16 || {{rws|New Jalpaiguri Junction}} || NJP || Katihar
|-
| 17 || {{rws|Katihar Junction}} || KIR || Katihar
|}

==See also==

* [[All India Station Masters' Association]]
* [[Zones and divisions of Indian Railways]]

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
|last=Dutta |first=Arup Kumar
|title=Indian Railways, the final frontier: genesis and growth of the North-East Frontier Railway
|year=2002
|location=Guwahati |publisher= Northeast Frontier Railway
|lccn=2003308231}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/ Northeast Frontier Railway]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131125225205/http://www.indianrail.gov.in/ Indian Railways Online] (official site)
* [http://www.irfca.org/ Indian Railways Fan Club]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070303131207/http://www.irctc.co.in/ IR. Online Tickets]
* [http://www.nfrlyconstruction.org/ N F Railway (construction)]
* [http://badesahab.com/2012/09/nfr-group-d/ Northeast Frontier Railway Recruitment]

{{Indian Railways}}

{{coord missing|Assam}}

[[Category:Zones of Indian Railways|N]]
[[Category:Northeast Frontier Railway Zone|*]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Assam]]
[[Category:Transport in Guwahati]]
[[Category:Economy of Guwahati]]

Northeast Frontier Railway zone - Revision history

2405:205:C88E:E889:0:0:14D0:B0AC: /* Loco sheds */