Eastern Railway zone

Railway zone of India

22°34′21.8″N 88°21′50.2″E﻿ / ﻿22.572722°N 88.363944°E﻿ / 22.572722; 88.363944

Eastern Railway

4-Eastern Railway

Howrah Junction

Overview
Headquarters| Fairley Place, Kolkata
Locale| West Bengal and Jharkhand, and some parts of Bihar
Dates of operation| 14 April 1952; 73 years ago (1952-04-14)-
Predecessor| East Indian Railway
Technical
Track gauge| Broad gauge (BG) & narrow gauge (NG)
Electrification| 2,222.620 kilometres (1,381.072 mi)
Length| 2,818.484 kilometres (1,751.325 mi)
Other
Website| Eastern Railway

The Eastern Railway (abbreviated ER) is among the 19 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place (Kolkata) and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol.[1] Each division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM). The name of the division denotes the name of the city where the divisional headquarters is located. Eastern Railway oversees the largest and second largest rail complexes in the country, Howrah Junction and Sealdah railway station, and also contains the highest number of A1 and A Category Stations like Howrah, Malda Town, Sealdah, Asansol, Kolkata, Durgapur, Barddhaman, Rampurhat Junction, Bhagalpur, Jamalpur, Jasidih, Bandel and Naihati. Eastern Railways operates India's oldest train, Kalka Mail.

## History

[edit]

The East Indian Railway (EIR) Company was incorporated in 1845 to connect eastern India with Delhi. The first train ran here between Howrah and Hooghly on 15 August 1854. The train left Howrah station at 8:30 a.m. and reached Hooghly in 91 minutes. The management of the East Indian Railway was taken over by the British Indian government on 1 January 1925.[2]

The Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating three lower divisions of the East Indian Railway: Howrah, Asansol and Danapur, the entire Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) and the Sealdah division of the erstwhile Bengal Assam Railway[3] (which was already added to the East Indian Railway on 15 August 1947). On 1 August 1955, the portions of BNR stretching from Howrah to Visakhapatnam in the South which is now the Headquarters of South Coast Railway zone, Howrah to Nagpur in the Central area and up to Katni in the North Central Region were separated from Eastern Railway and became the South Eastern Railway.[4][5] Three more divisions: Dhanbad, Mughalsarai and Malda were formed later.[6] Till 30 September 2002 ER consisted seven divisions.

On 1 October 2002 a new zone, the East Central Railway, headquarters at Hajipur, was carved out by separating the Eastern Railway's Danapur, Dhanbad and Mughalsarai divisions from it.[5] Presently, it comprises four divisions and they are Malda Town, Howrah, Sealdah and Asansol.

In 2021, Eastern Railway completed full electrification of its 2010 km rail network in West Bengal,[7] while in 2022, its entire network of 2848 km was electrified with the conversion of the Hansdiha-Godda section.[8][9]

## Divisions

[edit]

* Howrah railway division
* Sealdah railway division
* Asansol railway division
* Malda railway division

## Routes

[edit]

Sealdah Main railway station

### Trunk routes

[edit]

Howrah–Delhi main line

* Howrah–Bardhaman main line
* Howrah–Bardhaman chord line
* Bardhaman–Asansol section
* Asansol–Rajla section of Asansol–Patna line

Grand Chord and Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line

* Howrah–Bardhaman main line
* Howrah–Bardhaman chord line
* Bardhaman–Asansol section
* Asansol–Chhota Ambana section of Asansol–Gaya line

Sahibganj loop

* Khana–Rampurhat section of Sahibganj Loop

Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line

* Howrah–Bardhaman main line
* Howrah–Bardhaman chord line
* Bardhaman–Khana section of Bardhaman–Asansol line
* Khana–Gumani section of Sahibganj loop
* Gumani–New Farraka section of Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop
* New Farakka–Malda Town section of New Farakka–Barsoi line

### Suburban and Branch lines

[edit]

* Ahmadpur–Katwa line
* Andal–Sainthia branch line
* Andal–Sitarampur loop line
* Bardhaman–Katwa line
* Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop
* Deoghar–Banka–Bhagalpur branch line
* Dumka–Bhagalpur line
* Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line
* Madhupur–Giridih branch line
* Howrah–Belur Math branch line
* Nalhati–Azimganj branch line
* Krishnanagar–Nabadwip Ghat line (NG under conversion)
* Ranaghat–Lalgola line
* Ranaghat–Gede line
* Ranaghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar line
* Ranaghat–Bangaon line
* Seoraphuli–Tarakeswar–Goghat line
* Sealdah–Barasat–Bangaon line
* Barasat–Hasnabad line
* Sealdah–Ranaghat line
* Naihati–Bandel branch line
* Kalyani–Kalyani Simanta branch line
* Sealdah–Budge Budge line
* Sealdah–Diamond Harbour line
* Sealdah–Canning line
* Sealdah–Namkhana line
* Kolkata Circular Railway
* Calcutta Chord line

### Discontinued routes

[edit]

* Dum Dum Cantonment–Biman Bandar branch line

## EMU Carsheds

[edit]

* Howrah EMU Carshed (HWH)
* Bandel EMU Carshed (BDC)
* Narkeldanga EMU Carshed (NKG)
* Ranaghat EMU Carshed (RHA)
* Barasat EMU Carshed (BT)
* Sonarpur EMU Carshed (SPR)

## Loco Sheds

[edit]

* Electric Loco Shed, Howrah (HWH)
* Diesel Loco Shed, Howrah (HWH-D)
* Electric Loco Shed, Sealdah (SDAH)
* Electric Loco Shed, Asansol (ASN)
* Electric & Diesel Loco Shed, Bardhaman (BWN)
* Diesel Loco Shed, Andal (UDL)
* Diesel Loco Shed, Jamalpur (JMP)

## See also

[edit]

* All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA)
* Zones and divisions of Indian Railways

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Railway Zones and Divisions in The Country". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Railways (Government of India). 21 July 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
2. ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.13,34
3. ^ "Sealdah division-Engineering details". The Eastern Railway, Sealdah division. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012.
4. ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42–3
5. ^ a b "The Eastern Railway-About us". The Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008.
6. ^ "Focus-Eastern Railway". Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
7. ^ Press Release, CPRO's Office (25 February 2021). "100% ELECTRIFICATION OVER EASTERN RAILWAY ROUTE KILOMETERS IN WEST BENGAL ACHIEVED". Eastern Railway. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
8. ^ Statesman News Service (26 May 2022). "Eastern Railway achieves 100pc electrification". The Statesman. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
9. ^ PTI (27 May 2022). "Eastern Railway achieves 100 pc electrification of 2,848 km network". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 June 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Eastern Railway – Official website

* v
* t
* e

Railways in Eastern India

National network/
trunk lines|

* Barauni–Guwahati line
* Grand Chord
* Howrah–Chennai main line
* Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line
* Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line
* Howrah–New Delhi main line
* Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line
* Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line
* Sahibganj loop

Other lines/sections|

| Interstate|

* Asansol–Gaya section
* Asansol–Patna section
* Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line
* Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines
* Barkakana–Son Nagar line
* Barsoi–New Farakka section
* Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line
* Dumka–Bhagalpur line
* Gaya–Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction section
* Hatia–Rourkela line
* Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line
* Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line
* Katihar–Siliguri line
* Kharagpur–Puri line
* Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section
* Kothavalasa–Kirandul line
* New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line
* New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section
* Tatanagar–Bilaspur section

|

Bihar|

* Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line
* Barauni–Katihar section
* Barauni–Samastipur section
* Fatuha–Tilaiya line
* Gaya–Kiul line
* Jogbani–Katihar line
* Mansi–Saharsa line
* Mokama–Barauni section
* Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi)
* Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur main line
* Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section
* Muzaffarpur–Hajipur section
* Narkatiaganj–Bhikhna Thori branch line
* Neora–Daniyawan–Bihar Sharif–Sheikhpura line
* Patna–Gaya line
* Patna–Mughalsarai section
* Patna–Sonepur–Hajipur section
* Saharsa–Purnia line
* Saharsa–Forbesganj line
* Samastipur–Muzaffarpur section

Jharkhand|

* Barkakana–Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh line
* Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line
* Dhanbad–Chandrapura line
* Railways in Jharia Coalfield
* Koderma–Hazaribagh–Barkakana–Ranchi line
* Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line
* Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh–Hatia line

Odisha|

* Khurda Road–Bolangir line
* Cuttack–Sambalpur line

West Bengal|

* Ahmadpur–Katwa line
* Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line
* Andal–Sainthia branch line
* Andal–Sitarampur loop line
* Bandel–Howrah Line
* Bandel–Katwa line
* Bankura–Masagram line
* Bardhaman–Asansol section
* Bardhaman–Katwa line
* Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop
* Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
* Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line
* Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line
* Howrah–Barddhaman main line
* Howrah–Bardhaman chord
* Howrah–Kharagpur line
* Kharagpur–Bankura–Adra line
* New Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line
* Santragachi–Amta branch line
* Sealdah Main and North section
* Calcutta Chord link line
* Kolkata Circular Railway
* Sealdah–Bangaon line
* Sealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line
* Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line
* Sealdah South section
* Sheoraphuli–Bishnupur branch line

Suburban
rail transport|

* Kolkata Metro
* Kolkata Suburban Railway
* Kolkata Circular Railway

Monorail|

* Kolkata Monorail
* Patna Monorail

Defunct lines|

| Revived/
Under revival|

* Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway
* Bankura–Damodar Railway
* Barasat–Basirhat Light Railway
* Burdwan–Katwa Railway
* Bakhtiarpur–Bihar Light Railway
* Futwah–Islampur Light Railway

|

Inactive|

* Bengal Provincial Railway
* East Coast State Railway
* Kalighat Falta Railway
* Mayurbhanj State Railway
* Dehri Rohtas Light Railway
* Patna–Digha Ghat line
* Parlakimedi Light Railway

Zones & Divisions|

| Eastern|

* Asansol
* Howrah
* Malda
* Sealdah

|

East Central|

* Danapur
* Dhanbad
* Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
* Samastipur
* Sonpur

East Coast|

* Sambalpur
* Khurda Road
* Waltair

North Eastern|

* Varanasi

Northeast Frontier|

* Katihar
* Alipurduar

South Eastern|

* Adra
* Chakradharpur
* Kharagpur
* Ranchi

Production units/
workshops|

* Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
* Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam
* Braithwaite & Co.
* Burn Standard Company Limited
* Bharat Wagon and Engineering
* Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company
* Carriage Repair Workshop, Harnaut
* Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura

Transit points
with Bangladesh|

| Active|

* Haldibari–Chilahati
* Singhabad–Rohanpur
* Radhikapur–Biral
* Gede–Darshana
* Petrapole–Benapole

|

Defunct|

* Mahisasan–Shahbajpur
* Changrabandha–Burimari
* New Gitaldaha–Mogalhat

Indian railheads
near India–Nepal border|

* Raxaul Junction
* Bairgania
* Jaynagar
* Jogbani
* Laukaha Bazar
* Thakurganj

Railway companies|

* East Indian Railway Company
* Bengal Nagpur Railway
* Indian Branch Railway Company
* Indian Railways
* Martin's Light Railways

See also|

* Bholu (mascot)
* Suburban rail in India

* v
* t
* e

Indian Railways

Authority|

* Ministry of Railways
* Rail Bhavan
* Railway Board

Related
organisations|

* Central Organisation for Modernisation of Workshops (COFMOW)
* Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE)
* Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS)
* Commission of Railway Safety (CRS)
* Container Corporation of India (CCI)
* Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL)
* High Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited (HSRI)
* Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)
* Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)
* Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC)
* Ircon International (IRCON)
* Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC)
* Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC)
* National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)
* Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC)
* Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES)
* Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA)
* Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL)
* RailTel
* Railway Protection Force (RPF)
* Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB)
* Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB)
* Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO)

Zones|

* Central
* East Central
* East Coast
* Eastern
* Kolkata Metro
* North Central
* North Eastern
* North Western
* Northeast Frontier
* Northern
* South Central
* South Coast
* South East Central
* South Eastern
* South Western
* Southern
* West Central
* Western

Rolling stock|

| Coaching Stock|

* ICF coach
* LHB coach
* Tejas coach

|

Trainsets|

* Amrit Bharat
* Namo Bharat Rapid Rail
* Multiple units
* Shinkansen
* Vande Bharat
* Vande Bharat Sleeper

* Locomotives
* Wagon Numbering

Manufacturing
units|

* Banaras Locomotive Works
* BEML Limited
* Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
* Bharat Wagon and Engineering
* Braithwaite & Co.
* Burn Standard Company
* Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
* Diesel Locomotive Factory
* Electric Locomotive Factory
* Integral Coach Factory
* Marathwada Rail Coach Factory
* Modern Coach Factory
* Patiala Locomotive Works
* Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala)
* Rail Coach Factory (Sonipat)
* Rail Wheel Factory
* Rail Wheel Plant
* Titagarh Wagons

Railway
depots|

| Diesel Loco|

* Abu Road
* Alambagh
* Andal
* Bandra
* Bardhaman
* Bhagat Ki Kothi
* Bondamunda
* Coonoor
* Ernakulam
* Erode
* Gandhidham
* Golden Rock
* Gonda
* Gooty
* Guntakal
* Howrah
* Hubli
* Itarsi
* Izzatnagar
* Jamalpur
* Jhansi
* Kalka
* Kalyan
* Kazipet
* Kharagpur
* Krishnarajapuram
* Kurla
* Ludhiana
* Lumding
* Malda Town
* Maula Ali
* Mhow
* Motibagh
* Mughalsarai
* New Guwahati City
* New Katni Jn.
* Patratu
* Pratapnagar
* Pune
* Raipur
* Ratlam
* Sabarmati
* Samastipur
* Shakurbasti
* Siliguri
* Tondiarpet
* Tughlakabad
* Vatva
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

|

Electric Loco|

* Ajni
* Angul
* Arakkonam
* Asansol
* Barauni
* Bhilai
* Bhusawal
* Bilaspur
* Bokaro Steel City
* Bondamunda
* Erode
* Ghaziabad
* Gomoh
* Gorakhpur
* Guntakal
* Howrah
* Ispat Nagar
* Itarsi
* Jhansi
* Kalyan
* Kanpur
* Kazipet
* Khanalampura
* Lallaguda
* Ludhiana
* Mughalsarai
* Nagpur
* New Katni Jn.
* Rourkela
* Royapuram
* Saharanpur
* Saiyedpur Bhitri
* Tatanagar
* Tughlakabad
* Vadodara
* Valsad
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

Steam Loco|

* Coonoor
* Rewari

Multiple Unit|

| DEMU/DMU|

* Bangalore
* Budgam
* Gondia
* Jalandhar
* Jamalpur
* Motibagh
* Maula Ali
* Shakurbasti
* Vijayawada

|

EMU|

* Avadi
* Bandel
* Barasat
* Ghaziabad
* Howrah
* Kalwa
* Kandivali
* Kharagpur
* Kurla
* Maula Ali
* Mumbai Central
* Narkeldanga
* Panskura
* Ranaghat
* Saharanpur
* Sanpada
* Sonarpur
* Tambaram
* Tikiapara
* Velachery
* Virar

MEMU|

* Asansol
* Bhilai
* Kanpur
* Kollam
* Palakkad
* Rajahmundry
* Vadodara

Kolkata Metro|

* Noapara
* Tollygunge
* New Garia
* Central Park
* Joka

Lines|

| Main|

* Chennai–Bangalore
* Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai
* Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai
* Howrah–Chennai
* Howrah–Delhi
* Howrah–Gaya–Delhi
* Mumbai–Chennai
* New Delhi–Chennai
* New Delhi–Mumbai

|

High-speed|

* Mumbai–Ahmedabad (Under construction)

Suburban|

* Chennai MRTS
* Chennai Suburban
* Delhi Suburban
* Pune Suburban
* Hyderabad MMTS
* Kolkata Suburban
* Mumbai Suburban

Mountain|

* Darjeeling
* Kalka-Shimla
* Nilgiri

Passenger
trains|

| Semi-High speed|

* Amrit Bharat Express
* Duronto Express
* Gatimaan Express
* Tejas Express
* Rajdhani Express
* Shatabdi Express
* Vande Bharat Express

|

Premium|

* AC Express
* AC Double Decker Express
* Humsafar Express
* Uday Express

Express|

* Antyodaya Express
* Garib Rath Express
* Intercity Express
* Jan Sadharan Express
* Jan Shatabdi Express
* Mahamana Express
* Sampark Kranti Express
* Suvidha Express
* Rajya Rani Express
* Vivek Express
* Yuva Express

Luxury|

* Deccan Odyssey
* Fairy Queen
* Golden Chariot
* Mahaparinirvan Express
* Maharajas' Express
* Palace on Wheels
* Ramayana Express
* Royal Orient
* Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
* Village on Wheels

Special|

* Lifeline Express
* Red Ribbon Express
* Science Express

Others|

* Passenger trains
* Namo Bharat Rapid Rail

Stations|

| Major|

| Chennai|

* Chennai Central
* Chennai Egmore
* Tambaram

|

Delhi|

* Delhi Jn.
* Hazrat Nizamuddin
* New Delhi

Kolkata|

* Howrah
* Howrah South
* Sealdah

Mumbai|

* Dadar
* Kalyan Jn.
* Mumbai Central
* Mumbai CSMT
* Mumbai LTT
* Panvel
* Thane

Others|

* Ahmedabad Jn.
* Gorakhpur Jn.
* KSR Bengaluru
* Patna Jn.
* Pune Jn.
* Secunderabad Jn.
* Surat
* Vijayawada Jn.
* Visakhapatnam Jn.

Others|

* Junctions
* Metro

Training
institutes|

* Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN)
* Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering (IRICEE)
* Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE)
* Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET)
* Indian Railways Track Machine Training Centre (IRTMTC)
* National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR)
* National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI)
* Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy (JRRPFA)

Trade unions|

* All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF)
* All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA)
* Konkan Railway Corporation Employees Union (KRCEU)

Related articles|

* Accidents
* Anti-collision device
* Kavach
* Future
* Diamond Quadrilateral
* History of Rail Transport
* Last vehicle board
* Railway budget
* Railway schools
* Train Warning System
* Urban Rail Transit

* Category

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