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Katihar

Geography of the Region served by Katihar Division




Katihar division is a gateway to Northeast region. It covers some parts of Himalayan Terai and the fertile plains of the river basins of Ganges, Kosi, Teesta and Mahananda rivers.

Annual rainfall is fairly heavy, varying between 1500mm to 2500mm and the terrain is flood prone and breaches on river embankments cause devastating havocs periodically. However, this also is a boon as the area is fertile and rich in agricultural produce like food grains, jute and tea. It also produces a large quantity of seasonal fruits, such as mangoes, leechies, oranges and pineapples.

The division is surrounded by Nepal in the Northwest, Bangladesh in the East, Alipurduar division in the East, Samastipur and Sonepur divisions of ECR in the West and Malda division of ER in the South.

The division acts as a land bridge between Nepal and Bangladesh and the corridor, called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, is as narrow as 20 km in the Kishanganj-Aluabari sector.

        Districts Served by the Katihar Division

     

State

Districts

Name of Districts

West Bengal

5

Malda, Uttar-Dinajpur, Dakshin- Dinajpur,Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling

Bihar

4

Katihar, Kishanganj, A  raria, Purnea

Sikkim

4

North Sikkim, South Sikkim, East Sikkim, West Sikkim

    

      Historical Background

The Purvanchal region of the Bihar and North Bengal provinces of the East India witnessed the transport revolution in the region with the opening up of the massive Meter Gauge Railway network in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century which are now part of the present day Katihar Division of the Northeast Frontier Railway. These railway lines were opened to traffic on dates as indicated below:  

Section

Date of Opening

Manihari-Katihar-Kasba (MG)

01.04.1887

Kasba-Forbesganj

01.07.1889

Forbesganj-Jogbani

15.02.1909

Katihar-Raiganj

01.07.1889

Raiganj-Dinajpur

15.12.1888

Kishanganj-Barsoi

15.12.1892

Katihar-Singhabad-Godagari

01.01.1905

Katihar-Banmankhi-Murliganj

15.09.1928

New Jalpaiguri–Kumedpur (UP)

In the year 1964

Eklakhi-Gazole (BG)

10.02.2002

Gazole-Balurghat (BG)

31.12.2004

Barsoi-Radikapur (BG)

26.02.2006

Katihar – Barsoi   (BG )

07.11.2007

Katihar –Jogbani  (BG )

04.06.2008

Siliguri – Aluabari (BG)

24.10.2011

Katihar – Manihari (BG)

30.10.2011

Manihari – Teznarayanpur (BG)

(Newly Gauge conversion)

08.04.2013


 Geography of the Region served by Katihar Division

After partition, the portions of track/stations beyond Haldibari, Radhikapur and Singhabad went under the control of erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).The remaining portion came under the control of O.T. (Oudh Tirhut) Railway. On completion of the Assam Rail Link Project (ARLP), linking Assam Railway (successor of B.A.Railway) on 24.12.1949 along with Siliguri Town-Darjeeling NG: Siliguri-Kalimpong Road (Teesta Valley): and Siliguri Town-Haldibari MG (up to Bangladesh) sections, the present day Katihar Division was formed as a Railway district. After Partition, till the opening of Farraka Barrage, the Maniharighat-Katihar branch line played a significant role in providing rail linkage between North Bihar, North Bengal and Assam with Calcutta through a ‘Ferry Service’ between Maniharighat and Sahebganj. The conversion of Old Malda-Kumedpur-Khurial section connecting New Jalpaiguri, helped in improved handling of bulk traffic to and from this region through Broad Gauge.    The Katihar division was established in May’1969.

Katihar division is a gateway to Northeast region. It covers some parts of Himalayan Terai and the fertile plains of the river basins of Ganges, Kosi, Teesta and Mahananda rivers.

Annual rainfall is fairly heavy, varying between 1500mm to 2500mm and the terrain is flood prone and breaches on river embankments cause devastating havocs periodically. However, this also is a boon as the area is fertile and rich in agricultural produce like food grains, jute and tea. It also produces a large quantity of seasonal fruits, such as mangoes, leechies, oranges and pineapples.

The division is surrounded by Nepal in the Northwest, Bangladesh in the East, Alipurduar division in the East, Samastipur and Sonepur divisions of ECR in the West and Malda division of ER in the South.

The division acts as a land bridge between Nepal and Bangladesh and the corridor, called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, is as narrow as 20 km in the Kishanganj-Aluabari sector.

       Districts Served by the Katihar Division

State

Districts

Name of Districts

West Bengal

5

Malda, Uttar-Dinajpur, Dakshin- Dinajpur,Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling

Bihar

4

Katihar, Kishanganj, A  raria, Purnea

Sikkim

4

North Sikkim, South Sikkim, East Sikkim, West Sikkim

       Route and Track Kilometres

BG

MG

NG

Total

Route KM

760.99

12

88

861

Track KM

1493.06

12

109

1614.06

 .    Number of STATIONS (operating)

Gauge

Station

Class ‘A’

Class ‘B’

Class ‘C’

Total

BG

-

70

2 (NJB, GEOR)

72

NG

DHR

-

10

-

10

BG/MG

BORA

-

01

-

01

BG/NG

NJP

-

01

-

01

BG/MG/NG

SGUJ

-

01

-

01

Total

-

-

83

2

85

      MAJOR INTERCHANGE POINTS

Katihar division has 6 interchange point with other railways and one interchange point with Bangladesh. JBN station also serves as transit point with Nepal. The interchange points are as follows

Railway

Division

I/C Point

E. Rly

MLDT

MLDT

E. C. Rly

SEE

KIR

E. C. Rly

SPJ

PRNA, FBG*

N. F. Rly

APDJ

RQJ & SGUJ

(*) FBG: Presently suspended due to Mega Block for gauge conversion.

       

INTERCHANGE WITH BANGLADESH& NEPAL

COUNTRY

DIVISION

STATION

BANGLADESH

PAKSEY

SQB-RIP

BANGLADESH

RANGPUR

RDP-BLE

BANGLADESH

LALMANI HAT

*HDB-Chilahati

NEPAL

BIRATNAGAR

*ICY (Indian Custom Yard)-NCY (Nepal Custom Yard)

      Route/Track KM

BG

MG

NG

Section

Track KMs

Route KMs

Section

Track KMs

Route KMs.

Section

Track KMs

Route KMs.

NJP-MLDT

791.79

231.00

FBG-EC Rly.

0.35

0.35

NJP-SGUJ- DJ

108.80

87.50

NJP-RQJ

63.80

30.40

SGUJ- BORA

10.07

10.07

-

-

-

KIR-KDPR-BJU

62.20

32.90

-

-

-

-

-

-

OMLF-SQB

36.00

27.80

-

-

-

-

-

-

KDPR-By Pass

2.10

1.20

-

-

-

-

-

-

RQJ-HDB

38.10

33.90

-

-

-

-

-

-

EKI-BLGT

89.30

87.00

-

-

-

-

-

-

KIR-BOE-RDP

106.91

90.11

-

-

-

-

-

-

NJP-SGUJ

39.15

9.10

-

-

-

-

-

-

KIR-PRNA-JBN

135.63

108.38

-

-

-

-

-

-

PRNA -EC Rly. Border

1.10

1.10

-

-

-

-

-

-

AUB-SGUJ

89.60

76.60

-

-

-

-

-

-

KIR-TNPR

40.64

32.60

-

-

-

-

-

-

Total

1496.32

762.09

Total

10.42

10.42

Total

108.80

87.50

Say

1496

762

10.42

10.42

109.0

88.0

Total Route KM Division = 860 Kms.

Total Track KM Division = 1615.42 Kms.

   

      RULING GRADIENT DETAILS

SL

SECTION

RULIN GRADIENT

1

Malda Town – New Jalpaiguri (MLDT-NJP)

1 IN 300

2

New Jalpaiguri – Raninagar Jalpaiguri (NJP-RQJ)

1 IN 400

3

Raninagar Jalpaiguri – Haldibari (RQJ-HDB)

1 IN 200

4

New Jalpaiguri – Siliguri (NJP-SGUJ)

1 IN 357

5

Katihar – Kumedpur (KIR-KDPR)

1 IN 300

6

Barsoi – Radhikapur (BOE-RDP)

1 IN 250

7

Katihar – Mukuria (KIR-MFA)

1 IN 250

8

Katihar – Jogbani (KIR-JBN)

1 IN 250

9

Old Malda – Singabad (OMLF-SQB)

1 IN 300

10

Eklakhi – Balurghat (EKI-BLGT)

1 IN 165

11

Siliguri  Jn. – Aluabari Road (SGUJ-AUB)

1 IN 150

12

Katihar Jn. – Manihari (KIR-MHI)

1 in 250

13

Siliguri-Bagdogra SGUJ-BORA (MG)

Straight

14

New Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling NJP-DJ (NG)

1 in 18.1




Source : Welcome to North East Frontier Railway / Indian Railways Portal CMS Team Last Reviewed : 25-04-2019  


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