The Story of the Assam Rail Link construction project in 1947-50

And what happened to it later

Before 1947

• All trains from Calcutta to North Bengal and the Northeast passed through areas which were to become part of East Pakistan. See the following maps:

A closer look at the lines in northern Bengal

Some trains of the 1943 Bradshaw

• The Darjeeling Mail: Sealdah to Siliguri via Ranaghat, Hardinge bridge and Parbatipur

• The Assam Mail: BG from Sealdah to Parbatipur, then by MG to Amingaon via Lalmanirhat, Gitaldaha and Golakganj

• The Surma Mail: BG from Sealdah to Santahar, then by MG to ferry crossing, finally by MG to Mymensingh, Akhaura and Silchar

More about the 1943 trains

There were no express trains from North India to the North East, although there appears to have been a Prayag-Amingaon passenger via Katihar, Parbatipur and thence by the Assam Mail route.

One can also mention the Dacca Mail and Chittagong Express which involved long boat trips from Goalundo.

Effect of partition on rail lines

• See the map with the border cutting the lines at numerous places:

How the border cut the tracks

The missing links

• 1) Kishanganj-Siliguri NG line was to be converted to MG

• 2) Siliguri-Bagrakot including Tista bridge-could use existing NG line up to Sivok

• 3) Madarihat-Hashimara including Torsa bridge

• 4) Alipur Duar to Fakiragram

Further improvements

• 1) A new station Siliguri Jn was set up north of the existing BG terminus-which is now Siliguri Town

• 2) Siliguri to Sivok became a dual gauge NG-MG line, while the NG continued up the Tista valley to Gielle Khola

• 3) A new station Alipur Duar Jn was set up north of the existing Alipur Duar station

Improvements (contd)

• 4) New stations at Bagrakot, New Mal and elsewhere

• 5) New Gitaldaha Jn station set up north of existing junction-probably as it was too close to the border.

In the interim

• Trains such as the Darjeeling Mail continued to run through East Pakistan as there was no alternative

• A new zone called the Assam Railway was created

• The chief Engineer of the Assam Rail Link Project was Karnail Singh, later to become Chairman of the Railway Board

Also note

• The NG line from Kishanganj to Siliguri had an unsuitable alignment for MG, so most of the line had a new alignment.

• Instead of joining the Darjeeling line at Panchanai, the new MG line directly entered the new Siliguri Jn

• Then the eastbound trains reversed and followed the NG/MG line up to Sivok

Sidelights

• The Siliguri-Haldibari BG section was operated by Pakistan until the link was completed. Then it was converted to MG (and later to BG in the early 60s)-it had gone from MG to BG to MG and finally BG

• A stretch between Bamanhat and Golakganj became an isolated line with no connection to the rest of Pakistan

More on part 1 and 2

• The Tista bridge was just after Sivok. The new line continued to join the existing line near Bagrakot, where a new station was built

The changes around Siliguri

Part 3 and 4

• Madarihat to Hashimara was a relatively short stretch, but the Torsa bridge (like the Tista bridge) was a major obstacle.

• The line from Hashimara to Dalsinghpara was closed

• The line from Alipur Duar Jn (new station) to Fakiragram was not so problematic

Opening dates

• Kishanganj-Siliguri Jn: 106 km: 9 Dec 1949 (partly opened in Jul 1948)

• Siliguri Jn to Bagrakot: 32 km: 26 Jan 1950• Madarihat to Hashimara: 10 km: 25 Dec 1949• Alipur Duar Jn to Fakiragram: 72 km: 26 Jan

1950• Siliguri Jn to Siliguri Town: 2 km: 9 Dec 1949

A Republic Day gift

• Thus we can see that the entire Assam Rail Link was opened on the same day when the Republic of India was proclaimed

Later developments-1

• Later in 1950 the Tista Valley line up to Gielle Khola was badly damaged by floods and was abandoned. So the Siliguri-Sivok section became a pure MG line

• BG trains from Calcutta used to run up to Sakrigali Ghat near Sahibganj. A ferry crossing led to Manihari Ghat near Katihar, from where trains ran up to Amingaon (e.g. North Bank Express)

Later developments-2

• Ferry crossings were still a major bottleneck. The Mokameh bridge opened in 1959 and the Gauhati bridge in 1962-just in time for the war with China

• A ferry crossing at Farakka/ Khejuria Ghat with connecting lines to New Jalpaiguri was started in the mid-60s. This enabled the Darjeeling Mail to be resumed-although the Farakka bridge was opened only in 1971 (just in time for the Bangladesh war)

The completed link

• This is from the 1957 map:

Map of 1964

The ARLP today

• BG lines began to move into Assam in the mid-60s, though they reached Gauhati only by the 1980s

• Today most of the MG lines linking the Northeast with the rest of the country have been converted to BG

The 1971 map

• This is what the area looked like in 1971-note the BG inroads up to New Bongaigaon and Jogighopa

The 1971 map

The link in the 1975 time table:

• Katihar• Barsoi• Kishanganj• Naksalbari• Siliguri Jn• Sivok• Bagrakot• New Mal• Chalsa

• Binnaguri• Madarihat• Hashimara• Rajabhat Khawa• Alipur Duar Jn• Samuktala Road• Fakiragram• New Bongaigaon

The trains using the link in 1975

• Long distance trains were;

• 3,4 Assam Mail (BJU to DBRT)

• 1,2 Avadh Tirhut Mail

• 15,16 Lucknow Gauhati Express

• (both between LJN and GHY)

• Also the 17,18 Vaishali Express between AF and SGUJ

References

• Indian railways: the final frontier by A.K. Dutta

• History of Indian Railways-1964 edition• Survey of India maps of 1944,1957 and

1971• All India Time Table, 1975• Various issues of “Railway Gazette” in

1948-50• Article by RINBAD in irfca.org

THE END