Sealdah–Bangaon line

Sealdah–Bangaon line
A local train at the Hridaypur railway station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railway
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	Sealdah Bangaon
Stations	24
Website	Eastern Railway
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Kolkata Suburban Railway
Services	Sealdah–Barasat and Barasat–Bangaon
Operator(s)	Eastern Railway
Depot(s)	Sealdah Barasat
Daily ridership	0.5 million
History
Opened	1884 (1884)
Technical
Line length	77 km (48 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	At grade
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Old gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge
Electrification	25 kV overhead line
Operating speed	up to 100 km per hour
Route map km km Jessore–Benapole section 86 Benapole ( Benapole land port ) Bagdah 26 Bangladesh India Chandabazar 12 82 Petrapole Chhoighoria 6 Naobhanga Khal Ichhamati river line planned 78 00 Bangaon Junction Ranaghat–Bangaon line 20 Poramaheshtala (planned) Satberia Halt 5 Gopalnagar 5 Akaipur Halt 10 Majhergram 13 Gangnapur 18 Naba Raynagar 23 Coopers Halt 25 Ranaghat EMU Carshed Ranaghat–Gede line Ranaghat–Lalgola line Churni Ghat 30 89 Hingalganj Ranaghat Junction 28 Katakhali river line planned Sealdah–Ranaghat line 72 Hasnabad 70 Taki Road 67 Nimdanri 66 Madhyampur Bibhutibhusan Halt 73 64 Matania Anantapur Chandpara 68 61 Basirhat Thakurnagar 64 60 Bhyabla Gobardanga 58 55 Champapukur Jamuna river 52 Ghora Ras Ghona (planned) Swarupnagar 70 Bidyadhari Khal Machhalandapur 55 50 Malatipur Sanhati 50 46 Kankra Mirzanagar Habra 45 42 Harua Road Ashoknagar Road 42 39 Bhasila Guma 38 37 Lebutala (planned) Chakla 47 Bidyadhari Khal Bira 35 34 Beliaghata Road Dattapukur 31 35 Sondalia Bamangachhi 27 33 Bahira Kalibari 29 Karea Kadambagachi Barasat EMU Carshed 26 Kazipara Barasat Junction 23 Barasat Hridaypur 21 Hridaypur Madhyamgram 19 Madhyamgram Noai Khal New Barrackpore New Barrackpur 17 Michael Nagar Bisharpara Kodaliya 16 Birati Birati 14 Biman Bandar Belghoria Expressway  KM Line 6  (u/c) Durganagar 13 Biman Bandar 15 Jessore Road 13 Jessore Road line dismantled Jessop & Co. factory siding Ordnance Factory siding Dum Dum Cantonment 11 Dum Dum Cantonment  KM Line 4  (u/c) Sealdah Main & North section  KM Line 1  Dum Dum Junction 08 Patipukur loop line (dismantled) Jessore Road Belgachia 00 10 Patipukur Chitpur Rail Yard Ultadanga Road 011 Lansdown mill siding Kolkata 012 Brown Blanket mill siding Kolkata Circular Railway  KM Line 1  Kestopur Canal Bidhan Nagar Road 5 Bidhannagar Road Press House siding Kankurgachi Road 2 Kankurgachi Road Junction Narkeldanga EMU Carshed 3 Sir Gurudas Banerjee Halt Circular Canal Kankurgachi Chord line Sealdah North 00 0 Sealdah Main Sealdah  KM Line 2  Sealdah South 00 Beliaghata Diesel Loco Shed 6 Kamardanga Halt Beruck & Comens Siding 3│7 Park Circus Sealdah South section km km Key Indian Railways broad gauge (1676 mm) Kolkata Metro (KM) broad gauge (1676 mm) Kolkata Metro (KM) standard gauge (1435 mm) in use   out of use, planned, or under construction (u/c)   tunnel

The Sealdah–Bangaon line connects Sealdah and Bangaon in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is connected to the Sealdah–Ranaghat line at Dum Dum Junction, the Barasat–Hasnabad line at Barasat Junction and the Bangaon–Ranaghat line at Bangaon Junction. This line has change-over facilities with both the Kolkata Metro and the Kolkata Circular Railway at Dum Dum Junction and with the Kolkata Metro at Dum Dum Cantonment. It is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway.

History

The main line of the Eastern Bengal Railway, from Sealdah to Ranaghat, was opened way back in the year 1862. It was then extended during the same year up to Kushtia, which is now located in Bangladesh.In 1882–84, the Bengal Central Railway Company was commissioned to construct two lines: one from Dum Dum to Khulna, now in Bangladesh, via Bangaon; and the other linking Ranaghat and Bangaon. The line was converted into a 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)-wide broad gauge between 1957 and 1962. It was merged with Eastern Bengal Railway in 1903.

Electrification

The Sealah-Ashoknagar sector was electrified in 1963–64. The remaining line was electrified in the 1970s.

Passengers

Line-wise or route-wise passenger data is not available, but Sealdah Station handles 1.5 million passengers arriving or departing in 704 trains daily (including EMU locals), and a good proportion of that uses this line, as it is the main line out of the station.

Car shed

There is a large EMU car shed beside the Narkeldanga Canal, near Sealdah, which has a lot of space to accommodate locomotives. Barasat also has an EMU car shed which forms a part of that station's overall structure, having been designed to accommodate trains for rail engine and car maintenance.

Tracks

The Sealdah-Bangaon Line presently has two tracks; though at some stations, an additional platform and track has been built to originate and halt certain local trains.

Border

Though Bangaon is the last station on this particular route, the line extends up to the Indo-Bangladesh border and beyond that.

Petrapole, which is pn the Indian side of the international border, has a land customs station and handles about more than half of the 4 billion dollar trade between India and Bangladesh. With the remote possibility of improvements in the extremely narrow roads leading to the Indo-Bangladesh border, because of land acquisition problems, the principal focus is now on improving the railway system.

Trains

The only and the most important train from that uses this track is the Bandhan Express which runs from Kolkata to Dhaka. Apart from that a lot of local trains ply on this route which are:

• The Sealdah-Bangaon Local
• The Sealdah-Thakurnagar Local
• The Sealdah-Gobardanga Local
• The Sealdah-Habra Local
• The Sealdah-Duttapukur Local
• The Sealdah-Barasat Local
• The Sealdah-Madhyamgram Local
• The Sealdah-Dum Dum Cantonment Local
• The Sealdah-Hasnabad Local
• The Sealdah-Basirhat Local

Stations

The railway stations on this route are:

Station No	Railway Station
1	Sealdah
2	Bidhannagar Road
3	Dum Dum Junction
4	Dum Dum Cantonment
5	Durganagar
6	Birati
7	Bisharpara Kodaliya
8	New Barrackpur
9	Madhyamgram
10	Hridaypur
11	Barasat Junction
12	Bamangachhi
13	Duttapukur
14	Bira
15	Guma
16	Ashoknagar Road
17	Habra
18	Sanhati Halt
19	Machlandapur
20	Gobardanga
21	Thakurnagar
22	Chandpara
23	Bibhuti Bhushan Halt
24	Bangaon Junction

Gallery

• 
  Main Entrance of the Sealdah Railway Station
• 
  Dum Dum Junction railway station platform board
• 
  Bird's eye view of Birati railway station
• 
  Platform of Madhyamgram railway station
• 
  Bird's eye view of Barasat Junction railway station
• 
  Main Entrance of Barasat Junction railway station
• 
  Habra railway station platform board
• 
  Platform of Gobardanga railway station
• 
  Thakurnagar railway station platform board
• 
  Platforms of Bangaon railway station
• 
  Main Entrance of the Bangaon railway station
• 
  Petrapole railway station

External links

• Kolkata/Northern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage