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 |
