The Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line is a railway line connecting Howrah railway station to New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station in the Indian state of West Bengal. The line continues through North Bengal and western part of Assam to connect with . The – line is divided into two routes: one is the –– or –– section (Part of Sahibganj loop), which is considered as Howrah–NJP main line.The other is the - –New Farakka section (Part of BAK loop), which is considered as Howrah–NJP loop line. The – link allows trains from another terminus in Kolkata to use this route. Other parts of West Bengal and Bihar are well-connected to this line. It is under the administrative jurisdiction of Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway.

Main stations HWH–NJP main line Station code Station name Distance (km) HWH 00 BWN Bardhaman 93 BHP Bolpur Santiniketan 145 RPH 205 NFK 294 MLDT 329 KNE 477 NJP 564 +HWH–NJP loop lineStation codeStation nameDistance (km)HWH00BDC38KWAE143AZ216NFK295MLDT330KNE478NJPNew Jalpaiguri565 Note: Bold letters indicates major railway stations/major cities.

Route details +SubjectMain line (SBG loop)Loop line (BAK loop)RouteHowrah → Bardhaman → Khana → Rampurhat → Gumani → New Farakka → Malda → NJPHowrah → Bandel → Katwa → Azimganj → Jangipur → New Farakka → Malda → NJPMajor stationBardhaman, Bolpur, , , Distance564 km (350 mi)565 km (351 mi)Travel Time (Fastest)7 hr 30 min (NJP VB)9 hr 40 min (Garib Rath)Max speed130 kmph110 kmphNumber of tracks –(0–38 km): 4 tracks –(38–81 km): 3 tracks – (81–106 km): 4 tracks – (106–177 km): 2 tracks – (177–236 km): 3 tracks –NJP Jn (236–564 km): 2 tracks – (0–38 km): 3 tracks –NJP Jn (39–565 km): 2 tracksOperational roleActs as main trunk line Kolkata–North Bengal.Acts as bypass/alternate line when Sahibganj loop congested or disrupted.Tourist destinationsRampurhat (Tarapith) Bolpur (Santiniketan)Nabadwip Dham (Birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Mayapur ISKCON temple) Khagraghat (Hazarduari Palace)Prestigious trainsAlmost all premium trains like Vande bharat(22301/02),Shatabdi (12041/42), Humsafar (12503/04), Amrit bharat (13433/34), Darjeeling Mail (12343/44), Padatik (12377/78),Saraighat (12345/46) etc.Mainly passenger & ordinary express trains; very few prestigious trains like Garib rath (12501/02,12517/18), Vande Bharat Sleeper Express (27575/27576) etc.Number of trains10 (excluding Howrah Bypass) 18 (including Howrah Bypass-Via Dankuni)6Branch routes Dankuni–Andul Bardhaman–Katwa Khana–Asansol Ahmadpur–Katwa Sainthia–Andal Rampurhat–Dumka Nalhati–Azimganj Bonidanga–Sahibganj Bardhaman–Katwa Ahmadpur–Katwa Nalhati–Azimganj Azimganj–CossimbazarHistorical importanceOldest & primary alignment of Howrah–Delhi main line (before Kiul–Patna line got prominence).Originally built as a branch/loop for Katwa–Azimganj–Farakka region connectivity.GeographyRuns through Burdwan, Birbhum & Jharkhand border areas (Rampurhat, Pakur, etc.).Runs through Nadia & Murshidabad districts (Katwa, Azimganj, Jiaganj).BridgesCrosses Ajay River, Mayurakshi River, Gumani River and Farakka Barrage.Crosses Bhagirathi Canal (Ahiran Bridge) and also Farakka Barrage.Others Fastest Least distance More tracks More number of premium trains More branch routes More freight congestion (trunk route) More popular tourist destination Less freight pressure Less train congestion Less traffic More historic places

Sections The -long trunk line, been treated in more detail in smaller sections:

For HWH–NJP main line :

Howrah–Barddhaman main line Howrah–Barddhaman chord line Barddhaman–Rampurhat section Rampurhat–Malda Town section

For HWH–NJP loop line : Howrah–Bandel–Katwa section Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop For Common Line (New Farakka–Malda Town–NJP):

Barsoi–New Farakka section Katihar–New Jalpaiguri, Thakurganj and Siliguri sections

Earlier development During the British period all connections to North Bengal were through the eastern part of Bengal. From 1878, the railway route from Calcutta (now spelt Kolkata) to Siliguri was in two laps. The first lap was a 185 km journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River, then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey. A 336 km metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.

The long Hardinge Bridge across the Padma came up in 1912. Presently, it is between the Paksey and Bheramara stations on the broad-gauge line between and in Bangladesh. In 1926 the metre-gauge section north of the bridge was converted to broad gauge, and so the entire long Calcutta–Siliguri route became broad gauge. The route till 1947 thus ran: 0

Bheramara–Hardinge Bridge

Parabtipur Nilphamari

Siliguri.

Post-partition development With the partition of India in 1947, a major portion of the Calcutta–Siliguri line ran through East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. With several rail links in Bihar, the attention was on those links, and new links were developed. However, one hurdle stood out. There was no bridge across the Ganga river even in Bihar. A generally acceptable route to Siliguri was via Sahibganj loop to Sakrigali ghat. Across the Ganges by ferry to Manihari Ghat. Then metre gauge via and to and finally narrow gauge to Sliguri. In 1949 Kishanganj–Siliguri section was converted to metre gauge.

In the early 1960s, when Farakka Barrage was being constructed, a far reaching change was made. Indian Railways constructed a new broad-gauge rail link from south Bengal. , a new broad-gauge station was built south of Siliguri Town. The -long wide broad-gauge line was constructed from Khejuriaghat, on the north bank of the Ganga to Malda between 1959 and 1963.

The long Farakka Barrage carries a rail-cum-road bridge across the Ganga. The rail bridge was opened in 1971 thereby linking the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop to , New Jalpaiguri and other railway stations in North Bengal.

Reorganisation in the Siliguri area The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway came up as a narrow-gauge (2 feet) railway in 1881. In 1915, it was extended up the Teesta Valley to Gielle Kola and to the south to Kishanganj. In 1949 Kishanganj – Siliguri was converted from narrow-gauge to metre-gauge and extended north-east into Assam, partly along the narrow-gauge Teesta Valley route. Along with development of the metre-gauge line, a new Siliguri Junction station, north of the traditional Siliguri Town station, became the main station in the area. With the development of the broad-gauge system and the New Jalpaiguri station, the narrow gauge DHR was extended to New Jalpaiguri.

The earlier Siliguri–Kishanganj metre-gauge line is now part of the Siliguri–Kishanganj–Katihar metre-gauge line. Part of the metre-gauge track runs parallel to the broad-gauge track and part of it has a separate route.

The Siliguri–Haldibari route, part of the original broad-gauge Calcutta–Siliguri track via Hardinge Bridge, got delinked from the trunk route because of partition in 1947. As all the other tracks in the area were metre gauge, it was converted from broad gauge to metre gauge in the late 1940s. When New Jalpaiguri station came up, the line was extended to New Jalpaiguri. When broad-gauge lines were laid in the area, it was reconverted to broad gauge and now functions as the Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line.

Assam link The railway system in Assam got delinked from the rest of India in 1947. In order to establish a link with Assam, the Assam Rail Link Project, connecting Kishanganj with Fakirgram was started on a war footing on 26 January 1948. A 229 km-long metre-gauge line was built and commissioned in two years. The Kishanganj branch of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was taken over and converted to metre gauge. It was connected to the North Eastern Railway network at Barsoi. The Teesta Valley Line up to Sivok was taken over and converted to metre gauge. The link spanned three major rivers – Teesta, Torsha, and Sankosh. The Kishanganj–Naxalbari section was completed on 31 July 1948, the Naxalbari–New Bagrakot section on 26 January 1950, the Madarihat–Hashimara section on 25 December 1949 and Alipurduar–Fakirgram section on 26 January 1950.

In the seventies a new broad-gauge line was laid between New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati. The entire Barauni–Katihar–Guwahati line is being electrified.

Branch lines The Katihar–Barsoi–Raiganj–Radhikapur–Dinajpur–Parabatipur line is now operated on the Indian side up to only. The transit facility in the Radhikapur–Birol sector is virtually closed. The railway track on the Indian side has been converted to broad gauge while that on the Bangladesh side remains metre gauge.

The Old Maldah–Rajshahi section is used up to on the Indian side. Bangladesh started export of fertilizer to Nepal utilizing the Rahanpur–Singhabad transit point in November 2011.

The -long – broad-gauge line was opened in 2004. Extension of the Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line to Hili was announced in the Rail Budget for 2010–11.

See also Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop for other branch lines along this route.

Railway electrification Fully electrified. Passenger service with electric locomotives initiated on 09.01.2020.

Trains Some of the important trains running through main line are as follows: Howrah–New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express Howrah–New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express Howrah–New Jalpaiguri AC Express Darjeeling Mail Padatik Express Kanchan Kanya Express Uttar Banga Express Sealdah–Silchar Kanchanjungha Express Saraighat Express Kolkata–Haldibari Intercity Express Kolkata–Silghat Town Kaziranga Express Some of the important trains running through loop line are as follows:

Teesta Torsha Express Hate Bazare Express (via Mansi) Kamrup Express Paharia Express Dibrugarh–Kolkata Superfast Express Kolkata–Guwahati Garib Rath Express

References

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