Northeast Frontier Railway zone

The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 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 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. 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.

History

In 1881, the Assam Railway and Trading Company opened a metre gauge line long from Dibrugarh to Makum. 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 and the Northeast Frontier Railway.Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-4 to better serve the needs of the northeastern states.

Operational area

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 . 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: Barsoi-Radhikapur branch line 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 section Jogbani–Katihar line Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line Barauni–Guwahati line

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is maintained and governed under the responsibility of Katihar division. It ascends from New Jalpaiguri; the climb begins at Sukna, continues uninterruptedly to Ghum () and descends the final 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 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 locomotives 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

Major Trains Number Train Name Starting Station Terminating Station12423/1242420503/2050420505/20506Dibrugarh Rajdhani ExpressDibrugarhNew Delhi22503/22504Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek ExpressKanyakumari15909/15910Avadh Assam ExpressLalgarh15657/15658Brahmaputra MailKamakhyaOld Delhi20507/20508Sairang Rajdhani ExpressSairangAnand Vihar Terminal20501/20502Agartala Tejas Rajdhani ExpressAgartala12504/12503Agartala–SMVT Bengaluru Humsafar ExpressSMVT Bengaluru Terminal 15959/1596015961/15962Kamrup ExpressDibrugarhHowrah15645/15646Silchar–Charlapalli ExpressSilcharCharlapalli 15645/15646Guwahati-Lokmanya Tilak TerminusGuwahatiLokmanya Tilak Terminus12519/12520Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Agartala AC ExpressAgartala15645/15646Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Dibrugarh ExpressDibrugarh12507/12508Aronai ExpressThiruvananthapuramSilchar 12509/12510Guwahati-SMVT Bengaluru Superfast ExpressGuwahatiSMVT Bengaluru15903/15904Dibrugarh-Chandigarh ExpressDibrugarhChandigarh15933/15934New Tinsukia–Amritsar ExpressNew TinsukiaAmritsar15635/15636Dwarka ExpressGuwahatiOkha15653/15654Amarnath ExpressGuwahatiJammu Tawi15655/15656Kamakhya–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra ExpressGuwahatiShri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra 22511/22512Kamakhya–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Karmabhoomi ExpressKamakhyaLokmanya Tilak Terminus12505/12506North East ExpressKamakhyaAnand Vihar Terminal 12487/12488Seemanchal ExpressJogbaniAnand Vihar Terminal15667/15668Kamakhya–Gandhidham Superfast ExpressKamakhyaGandhidham15655/15656New Tinsukia–SMVT Bengaluru Superfast ExpressNew TinsukiaSMVT Bengaluru 15929/15930New Tinsukia–Tambaram ExpressNew TinsukiaTambaram15617/15618Guwahati–Dullabcherra ExpressGuwahatiDullabcherra13125/13126Sairang Kolkata ExpressSairangKolkata12517/12518Guwahati-Kolkata Garib Rath ExpressGuwahati12501/12502Agartala-Kolkata Garib Rath ExpressAgartala13173/13174Sabroom-Sealdah Kanchanjungha ExpressSabroomSealdah13175/13176Silchar-Sealdah Kanchanjungha ExpressSilchar

Loco sheds Diesel Loco Shed, Siliguri Diesel & Electric Loco Shed, Malda Town Diesel Loco Shed, New Guwahati Diesel Loco Shed, Mariani

Sicklines & Pitlines

Dibrugarh Coaching Depot, Dibrugarh Pitline, Dibrugarh N.F.Railway Mechanical Workshop, Dibrugarh Coach Maintenance Depot/Sickline, Guwahati Pitline, Guwahati Pitline, New Guwahati New Bongaigaon Carriage & Wagon Workshop, New Bongaigaon Coach Maintenance Depot, Kamakhya Automatic Coach Washing Pitline, Kamakhya Silchar Coaching Depot, Silchar Pitline, Silchar DEMU cum Sick Shed, Agartala Pitline, Agartala Routine Overhaul(ROH) Depot, New Tinsukia Tinsukia Carriage Depot, Tinsukia New Coaching Depot/Sickline, Katihar Pitline, Balurghat Coach Maintenance Depot, New Jalpaiguri Routine Overhaul(ROH) Depot, New Jalpaiguri DEMU Car Shed, Siliguri DEMU Shed, Lumding

Major stations These are the major railway station which have large numbers of passenger frequencies and stoppages of trains in the zone. + List of major railway stations in Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways Sl. No. Name of station Station code Division 1 GHY Lumding 2 SCL Lumding 3 DBRG Tinsukia 4 RNY Rangiya 5 KYQ Lumding 6 LMG Lumding 7 MXN Tinsukia 8 BPB Lumding 9 DMV Lumding 10 NTSK Tinsukia 11 KXJ Lumding 12 RPAN Rangiya 13 NBQ Rangiya 14 NOQ Alipurduar 15 NCB Alipurduar 16 APDJ Aipurduar 17 NJP Katihar 18 KIR Katihar 19 PRNA Katihar 20 AGTL Lumding 21 SGUJ Katihar 22Jalpaiguri Road railway stationJPE Alipurduar 23Dhupguri railway stationDQGAlipurduar24Naharlagun railway stationNHLNRangiya

Northeast Frontier Railway zone

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