Bilaspur–Nagpur section

External videos
External videos
	Gondia-Balaghat-Katangi DEMU
	Gondia-Balaghat-Katangi Passenger Train

Bilaspur–Nagpur section
Bilaspur–Nagpur section
	Bhilai Nagar railway station situates on Bilaspur–Nagpur section
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
Termini	Bilaspur; Nagpur;
Service
System	Electrified
Services	Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line
Operator(s)	South East Central Railway
History
Opened	1891
Technical
Track length	Main line: 414 km (257 mi); Branch lines:; Abhanpur–Rajim : 17 km (11 mi) ; Kendri–Dhamtari : 68 km (42 mi); Durg–Dalli Rajhara: 87 km (54 mi); Gondia–Balaghat–Katangi: 88 km (55 mi); Tumsar Road–Tirodi: 48 km (30 mi); Gondia–Nagbhir–Balharshah: 252 km (157 mi); Nagpur–Nagbhir : 110 km (68 mi); Kanhan–Ramtek: 23 km (14 mi); Nagpur–Chhindwara : 110 km (68 mi); Chhindwara–Amla: 115 km (71 mi)
Number of tracks	Main line: 3 tracks between Bilaspur to Rajnandgaon and ; 2 tracks between Rajnandgaon to Nagpur
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	Yes
Operating speed	Main line: up to 160 km/h
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	to Nainpur
	on Satpura Railway
	Madhya Pradesh
	Maharashtra
	Maharashtra
	Madhya Pradesh
	to Nainpur
	on Satpura Railway
	Madhya Pradesh
	Maharashtra

The Bilaspur–Nagpur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects Bilaspur in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and Nagpur in Maharashtra. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through a forested plateau region interspersed with fertile valleys.

History

The first train in India travelled from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853. By May 1854, Great Indian Peninsula Railway's Bombay–Thane line was extended to Kalyan. Bhusawal station was set up in 1860 and in 1867 the GIPR branch line was extended to Nagpur.^[1] The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway started construction of the 240 km (149 mi) metre gauge (soon converted to broad gauge) Nagpur–Rajnandgaon section in 1878, after surveys were started in 1871. The Nagpur–Tumsar Road section was opened in April 1880 and the Tumsar Road–Rajnandgaon section in December 1880.^[2]

The Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line, a joint effort of Great Indian Peninsula Railway and East Indian Railway Company came up in 1870.^[3] The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah–Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad.^[4] The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol, on the Howrah–Delhi main line, was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891.^[5]

A narrow-gauge branch line was constructed from Raipur to Dhamtari, and from Abhanpur another branch line goes to Rajim. It was opened in 1900.^[6] The Gondia–Nagbhir–Nagpur line was opened for traffic in 1908. The Nagbhir–Rajoli line was opened in 1913 and extended up to Chanda. The Bhilai–Dalli Rajhara line mainly for iron ore transportation was opened in 1958. Bhilai Steel Plant was opened in 1959.^[5]

The Bengal Nagpur Railway was nationalized in 1944.^[5]Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway.^[7] In 1955, South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier.^[7]^[8] Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway. Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway.^[7]

Gauge conversion

Work for conversion to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge of the 240 km (149 mi) narrow-gauge Gondia–Chanda Fort line started in December 1992, Gondia–Wadsa section was inaugurated on 25 September 1994. Wadsa–Nagbhir section was opened on 20 February 1997, Nagbhir–Chanda Fort section was opened on 13 January 1999 and the Chanda Fort–Ballarshah section was operated from 2 July 1999.^[9]

The Gondia–Balaghat broad-gauge section was opened for traffic on 6 September 2005.^[9] The Balaghat–Katangi section was converted to broad gauge in 2010.^[10]^[9]

The gauge conversions are under process for 147 km (91 mi)-long Nagpur–Chhindwara section, the 110 km (68 mi)-long Jabalpur–Nainpur section, the 180 km (112 mi)-long Chhindwara–Nainpur–Mandla section, the Nainpur–Balaghat section and 110 km (68 mi)-long Nagpur–Nagbhir section.^[11]^[12]

Electrification

The entire main line is electrified. The Bilaspur–Bhilai and Bhilai–Durg sections were electrified in 1970–71, Durg–Paniajob section in 1989–90. The Paniajob–Gondia and Gondia–Bhandara Road sections in 1990–91, Bhandara Road–Tharsa and Tharsa–Nagpur sections in 1991–92.^[13] The Amla–Chhindwara section was electrified in 2017^[14] and Balharshah–Chanda Fort–Gondia section was electrified in 2018. Other lines will be electrified once converted to broad gauge.

Speed limits

The entire Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is classified as a "Group A" line which can take speeds up to 160 km/h.^[15]

Passenger movement

Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg and Nagpur on this line are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway. About 1 to 1.2 million passengers travel from here.^[16]

Narrow gauge rail museum

A Narrow Gauge Rail Museum was inaugurated at Nagpur on 14 December 2002. It was accorded the status at par with National Rail Museum, New Delhi.^[9]

References

^ "IR History: Early Days – I : Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1832–1865)". IRFCA. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
^ "Nagpur Division" (PDF). Retrieved 20 November 2012.
^ "IR History: Early Days – II : Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1870–1899)". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ "Number 1 Down Mail". Railways of the Raj. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Major Events in the Formation of S.E. Railway". South Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ "Raipur District". IRFCA. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
^ "IR History: Part - IV (1947–1970)". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Nagpur Division" (PDF). South East Central Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ "Balaghat–Jabalpur protest march to demand rly line". The Times of India. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ "Funds crunch hits gauge conversion work". The Times of India. 27 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^ "What is new in the Railway Budget 2012-13". The Times of India. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
^ @Central_Railway (3 December 2017). "Amla-Chhindwara section of #Nagpur Division electrified from today. First train on #Electric traction Pench Valley…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Chapter II – The Maintenance of Permanent Way". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
^ "Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry". Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways. IRFCA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

External links

[1] "IR History: Early Days – I : Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1832–1865)". IRFCA. Retrieved 20 November 2012.

[nagpur-2] "Nagpur Division" (PDF). Retrieved 20 November 2012.

[3] "IR History: Early Days – II : Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1870–1899)". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[4] "Number 1 Down Mail". Railways of the Raj. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[ser-5] "Major Events in the Formation of S.E. Railway". South Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[6] "Raipur District". IRFCA. Retrieved 25 December 2012.

[zones-7] "Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.

[8] "IR History: Part - IV (1947–1970)". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.

[division-9] "Nagpur Division" (PDF). South East Central Railway. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[10] "Balaghat–Jabalpur protest march to demand rly line". The Times of India. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[11] "Funds crunch hits gauge conversion work". The Times of India. 27 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2012.

[12] "What is new in the Railway Budget 2012-13". The Times of India. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[13] "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

[14] @Central_Railway (3 December 2017). "Amla-Chhindwara section of #Nagpur Division electrified from today. First train on #Electric traction Pench Valley…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[15] "Chapter II – The Maintenance of Permanent Way". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-10.

[16] "Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry". Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways. IRFCA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-21.

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v t e Railways in Central India
Trunk lines	Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line New Delhi–Chennai main line New Delhi–Mumbai main line
Branch lines/ sections	Bina–Katni line Tatanagar–Bilaspur section Bilaspur–Nagpur section Nagpur–Bhusawal section Allahabad–Jabalpur section Jabalpur–Bhusaval section Agra–Bhopal section Ujjain–Bhopal section Bhopal–Nagpur section Nagpur–Hyderabad line Narkhed–Amravati line Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur line Bilaspur–Katni line Indore–Gwalior line
Metro	Bhopal Metro Indore Metro
Defunct lines revived/under revival	Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway Rajputana–Malwa Railway Satpura Railway
Railway zones	South East Central Railway Western Railway West Central Railway
Railway divisions	Ratlam railway division Bhopal railway division Jabalpur railway division Bilaspur railway division Raipur railway division
Rail transport	Rail transport in Chhattisgarh Rail transport in Madhya Pradesh
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) Datia rail accident