Bengal and North Western Railway

Bengal and North Western Railway
Industry	Railways
Predecessor	none
Founded	1882
Defunct	1 January 1943
Successor	Oudh and Tirhut Railway
Headquarters	India
Area served	Northern India
Services	Rail transport

The Bengal and North Western Railway was owned and worked by the Bengal and North Western Railway Company (registered 23 October 1882, dissolved October 1946). The Bengal and North Western Railway was merged into the Oudh and Tirhut Railway on 1 January 1943.^[1]

Its original Director was the Scottish railway engineer Alexander Izat (1844–1920) who was responsible for the engineering of the lines and stations.^[2]

Bengal & North Western main line

Bengal & North Western main line was a 301-mile-long (484 km) metre gauge line consisting of the following sections:

Sonepur to Mankapur (219 miles (352 km)) opened 15 January 1885
Mankapur to Gonda (17 miles (27 km)) opened 2 April 1884
Gonda to Colonelganj (18 miles (29 km)) opened (29 October 1891) 1 February 1892
Colonelganj to Jarwal Road (11 miles (18 km)) opened 1 February 1892
Jarwal Road to Bahramghat (5 miles (8 km)) (including Elgin Bridge) opened 18 December 1896
Bahramghat to Burhwal (4 miles (6.4 km)) opened 24 November 1896
Burwhal to Barabanki (broad gauge: 17 miles (27 km)) opened 1 April 1872
- Burhwal to Barabanki (broad to mixed gauge) converted 24 November 1896
- Burhwal to Barabanki (mixed to metre gauge) converted around 1943
Dighwara-Goldingganj diversion (7 miles (11 km)) opened around 1960
Barabanki to Chhapra (metre to broad gauge) converted 1981
Chhapra Kacheri to Dighwara (metre to broad gauge: 10 miles (16 km)) converted autumn 2006

Bengal & North Western Railway Loop line

Chapra-Allahabad line (metre gauge: 200 miles)
Chapra (Chhapra) to Revelganj (7 miles)
Revelganj to west of Revelganj (1 mile) opened (15 April) 15 May 1891 opened (15 Mar) 1 April 1899
West of Revelganj to Bakulaha (5 miles) (Inchcape Bridge) opened 7 February 1912
Bakulaha to Phephna (33 miles)
Phephna to Ghazipur (31 miles)
Ghazipur ghat to Aunrihar (26 miles)
Aunrihar to Benares (Varanasi) City (EI) (20 miles) Benares Cant. (BNW) to Benares City (BNW) (2 miles)
Benares Cant (Junction) (EI) to Madhosingh (29 miles)
Madhosingh to Jhusi (41 miles)
Jhusi to Izat Bridge (3 miles)
Izat Bridge to Allahabad City (1 mile) ~ old Manjhi branch (metre gauge: 3 miles) Revelganj to Manjhi (3 miles) ~ old Chandiara ghat branch (metre gauge: 2 miles)
Bakulaha to Chandiaraghat (2 miles)
Phephna to Indara (32 miles)
Mirzapur branch (metre gauge: 7 miles) Madhosingh to Mirzapurghat (6 miles) Mirzapurghat to Chilh (½ mile)
Maharajganj branch (metre gauge: 4 miles)
Duraundha (Daronda) to Maharajganj (broad gauge: 4 miles)
Siwan-Captainganj line (metre gauge: 79 miles)
Siwan (Sawan) to Thawe (metre to broad gauge: 18 miles)
Thawe to Turkauha (Tamkuki Road) (23 miles)
Turkauha to Captainganj (Kaptanganj) (38 miles)
Bhatni-Benares Chord (metre gauge: 79 miles)
Bhatni to Tartipur (17 miles)
Tartipur to Mau (26 miles)
Mau to Aunrihar (36 miles)
Bhatni to Aunrihar (metre to broad gauge)
Barhaj branch (metre gauge: 13 miles) Salimpur to Barhaj Bazar (13 miles)
Dohrighat branch (metre gauge: 54 miles)
Indara to Dohrighat (22 miles)
Shahganj branch (metre gauge: 62 miles)
Mau to Azamgarh (27 miles)
Azamgarh to Shahganj (35 miles)
Jaunpur branch (metre gauge: 36 miles)
Aunrihar-Jaunpur via Kerakat (opened 21 March 1904)

Rolling stock

In 1936 the company owned 386 locomotives, 1293 coaches and 12.191 goods wagons.^[3]

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.^[4]^[5]

Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion, Bengal Army

The Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion was an infantry regiment under the Volunteer Corps of the British Indian Army. The auxiliary regiment was formed on 14 June 1879 as the Bengal and North Western Railway Volunteer Rifles by the British East India Company. The headquarters of the regiment was established in Gorakhpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The uniform of Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion was khaki drill with white facings and the military badge included St. Andrew's cross in a thistle wreath. The battalion included staff from the Bengal and North Western Railway which was a metre gauge railway company. On 17 June 1892, the Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion was merged with the Tirhut State Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps. Later in 1917 it was designated as the 22nd Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion. Eventually the regiment was renamed as the Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion on 1 October 1920.^[6]

Notes

Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust
Chapter 1 - Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background

References

^ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 157-162; Retrieved 15 September 2017
^ "Alexander Izat - Graces Guide".
^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 212.
^ "Indian Railway Classification". Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. pp. 210–219.
^ India, Army Headquarters (2012). Indian Army List January 1919 — Volume 2. Andrews UK Limited. p. 834. ISBN 9781781502570. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

External links

Documents and clippings about Bengal and North Western Railway in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

[1] "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 157-162; Retrieved 15 September 2017

[2] "Alexander Izat - Graces Guide".

[3] World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 212.

[4] "Indian Railway Classification". Retrieved 10 November 2022.

[5] World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. pp. 210–219.

[6] India, Army Headquarters (2012). Indian Army List January 1919 — Volume 2. Andrews UK Limited. p. 834. ISBN 9781781502570. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

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v t e Railways in Northern India
National network/ trunk lines	Howrah–Delhi main line New Delhi–Chennai main line New Delhi–Mumbai main line Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Delhi–Jaipur line Jaipur–Ahmedabad line
Branch lines/ sections	Agra–Bhopal section Ahmedabad–Udaipur line Allahabad–Mau–Gorakhpur main line Ambala–Attari line Amritsar–Khem Karan line Amritsar–Pathankot line Aunrihar–Jaunpur line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Bathinda–Rewari line Bathinda–Rajpura line Bikaner–Rewari line Bhanupli–Leh line Chandigarh–Sahnewal line Delhi–Fazilka line Delhi–Kalka line Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line Delhi–Moradabad line Jalandhar–Firozpur line Jalandhar–Jammu line Jammu–Baramulla line Jodhpur–Bathinda line Jodhpur–Jaisalmer line Kanpur–Delhi section Laksar–Dehradun line Lucknow–Gorakhpur line Lucknow–Moradabad line Ludhiana–Fazilka line Ludhiana–Jakhal line Marwar Junction–Munabao line Mathura–Vadodara section Mau–Ghazipur–Dildarnagar main line Merta Road–Rewari line Moradabad–Ambala line Mughalsarai–Kanpur section Rewari–Rohtak line Shri Ganganagar–Sadulpur line Suratgarh–Bathinda line Varanasi–Chhapra line Varanasi–Lucknow main line Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line Varanasi–Sultanpur–Lucknow line
Urban and suburban rail transport	Delhi Suburban Railway Delhi Metro (Blue Green Grey Magenta Orange Pink Red Violet Yellow) Rapid Metro Gurgaon Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Barabanki–Lucknow Suburban Railway Delhi–Meerut RRTS
Heritage railways	Kalka–Shimla Railway
Monorails	Patiala State Monorail Trainways
Defunct lines	Jammu–Sialkot line
Manufacturing units and workshops	Banaras Locomotive Works Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli
Railway companies	Northern Railway North Eastern Railway North Central Railway North Western Railway East Indian Railway Company Kangra Valley Railway Rajputana–Malwa Railway Tirhut Railway Oudh and Tirhut Railway Indian Branch Railway Company Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Cawnpore–Burhwal Railway Cawnpore–Barabanki Railway Lucknow–Bareilly Railway Bengal and North Western Railway Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Mashrak–Thawe Extension Railway Lucknow–Sitapur–Seramow Provincial State Railway Bareilly–Pilibheet Provincial State Railway Segowlie–Raxaul Railway Delhi Metro Rail Corporation National Capital Region Transport Corporation
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) 1974 railway strike in India Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor