Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line


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The Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line links Barsoi railway station on the Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line to Radhikapur railway station on the Bangladesh–India border.

Barsoi–Radhikapur Branch line
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerIndian Railways
LocaleWest Bengal
Termini
Stations13
Service
Operator(s)Northeast Frontier Railway
History
Opened1889 (broad gauge from 2006)
Technical
Line length53.44 km (33 mi)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
ElectrificationYes

Route map

km

Up arrow

0

 Barsoi

Down arrow

4

 Dhachna

11

 Kachna

15

 Jhitkia

Up arrow

43

 Dalkhola

Down arrow

36

 Domohona

31

 Karandighi

23

 Tunidighi

19

 Altapur

14

 Bilashpur Hat

Nagri River

Kulik River

Raiganj–Dalkhola line
(planned)
21
0
 Raiganj

Left arrow

28

 Bamangram

32

 Bangalbaree

41

 Kaliyaganj

Left arrow

47

 Dalimgaon

53

 Radhikapur

India
Bangladesh

border

63

 Biral

Right arrow

69

 Kanchan

Down arrow

km
Source: India Rail Info[1]

Assam Behar State Railway extended the metre-gauge railway from Parbatipur, now in Bangladesh, to Katihar in 1889.[2] With the partition of India in 1947, the Katihar–Radhikapur section remained in India and the Biral–Parbatipur section was placed in Pakistan (later Bangladesh).

When the broad-gauge railway line, instead of being placed at Dalkhola–Malda via Raiganj, was moved to Dalkhola–Barsoi–Malda this section, became only a branch line.[3] This branch line starts at Barsoi railway station and ends at Radhikapur railway station where the Indo-Bangladesh border lies. The Barsoi–Radhikapur sector was converted to broad gauge in 2006.[4] The corresponding station on the Bangladesh side is Biral in Dinajpur District.[5][6] The transit facility in the Radhikapur–Birol sector has remained suspended since 1 April 2005.But now it has been converted to broad gauge and large goods train are travelling with stone boulders from Nepal to Bangladesh through India from March 2017 and it was officially operationalised and announced open in April 2017.[7] The railway track on the Indian side has been converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge while that on the Bangladesh side has been made into Dual gauge.[8][9]

There are 13 railway stations in this branch line. 10 of them are in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal and the rest are in Katihar district of Bihar.[10]

Station code Station name Distance (km)
RDP Radhikapur 0.0
DLX Dalimgaon 6.2
KAJ Kaliyaganj 12.1
BJY Bangalbaree 21.9
BMGR Bamangram 25.1
RGJ Raiganj 32.2
JTK Jhitkia 38.8
KAU Kachna 42.8
DHNA Dhachna 49.1
BOE Barsoi Junction 53.4

[11][12][13]

  1. ^ "Old Malda Singhabad Passenger 55710". India Rail Info.
  2. ^ "IR History: Early days II: 1870–1899". IRFCA. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Jogbani – Katihar – Barsoi – Radhikapur and Katihar – Teznarayanpur section (234 K)" (PDF). Nfrlyconstruction.org. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  4. ^ Srivastava, V.P. "Role of Engineering Deptt in Meeting Corporate Objectives of Indian Railways" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Collision kills woman on Vellore trip". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 23 August 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Govt weighs rail links with Nepal, Bhutan". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  7. ^ Tiral run flagged off by Modi and hasina, Economic Times, 6 April 2017
  8. ^ "Rail Link with Bangladesh". Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 7 September 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). pib.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "13146/Radhikapur – Kolkata Express (PT) – Radhikapur/RDP to Kolkata/KOAA ER/Eastern Zone – Railway Enquiry". India Rail Info. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  11. ^ "13146/Radhikapur – Kolkata Express (PT) – Radhikapur/RDP to Kolkata/KOAA ER/Eastern Zone – Railway Enquiry". India Rail Info. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. ^ "75708 SGUJ - RDP DEMU Running Status, Route Time Table | SILIGURI JN RADHIKAPUR DMU". www.trainspnrstatus.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Report on inspection prior to opening of Barsoi–Radhikapur section" (PDF). Indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 18 December 2016.