TheAssam Bengal Railway(ABR) was one of the pioneering railway companies inBritish India.HeadquarteredinChittagong,it functioned from 1892 to 1942.[1][2][3][4]
 | |
| Industry | Railways |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1892 |
| Defunct | 1942 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | AssamandBengal |
| Services | Rail transport |
History
editAssam Bengal Railway was incorporated in 1892 to serve British-owned tea plantations in Assam.[5]
Assam Bengal Railway started construction of a railway track on the eastern side ofBengalin 1891. A 150 kilometres (93 mi) track betweenChittagongandComillawas opened to traffic in 1895. The Comilla-Akhaura-Kulaura-Badarpur section was opened in 1896–1898 and finally extended toLumdingin 1903.[6][7][8]The Assam Bengal Railway constructed a branch line to Guwahati, connecting the city to the eastern line in 1900. The line was extended to Tinsukia in 1902 and it was also connected to Dibru-Sadiya Railway in 1903.[5]
In 1936, the company owned 205 locomotives, 588 coaches and 5922 goods wagons.[9]
On 1 January 1942 the Assam Bengal Railway combined with theEastern Bengal Railwayto form theBengal and Assam Railway.[2][10][11]At time of the independence of India in 1947, Bengal and Assam Railway was split up and portions of the Bengal Assam Railway which lay in Assam and the Indian part of North Bengal becameAssam RailwayandEast Indian Railwayrespectively.[5][12]and the portions about 2,600 km long which fell within the boundary of erstwhileEast Pakistanwas named as Eastern Bengal Railway, the control remaining with the central Government ofPakistan.Later, with the effect from 1 February 1961, Eastern Bengal Railway was renamed as Pakistan Railway,[10]and in 1962 it becamePakistan Eastern Railway.[13]With the emergence of Bangladesh, it becameBangladesh Railwaywith its headquarters atDhaka.[6]
On 14 April 1952, the 2,857 km long Assam Railway and theOudh and Tirhut Railwaywere amalgamated to form one of the six newly carved zones of theIndian Railways:theNorth Eastern Railway (India).[14][15]On the same day, the reorganized Sealdah division of the erstwhile Bengal Assam Railway (which was added to the East Indian Railway earlier) was amalgamated with theEastern Railway.[16]
Classification
editIt was labeled as a Class I railway according toIndian Railway ClassificationSystem of 1926.[17][18]
Conversion to broad gauge
editThe Indian part of ABR was converted to1,676 mm(5 ft 6 in) broad gauge in 1990s to 2010s. The Bangladesh part is under conversion to1,676 mm(5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.
References
edit- ^"Chittagong – looking for a better future".New Age.Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2013.Retrieved13 September2013.
- ^abMukherjee, Hena (2012)."Assam Bengal Railway".InIslam, Sirajul;Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh(Second ed.).Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^Mukherjee, Hena (2012)."Eastern Bengal Railway".InIslam, Sirajul;Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh(Second ed.).Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^Islam, Sirajul (2012)."East Indian Railway".InIslam, Sirajul;Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh(Second ed.).Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^abcR.P. Saxena."Indian Railway History timeline".Archived fromthe originalon 29 February 2012.Retrieved24 February2012.
- ^abFida, Quazi Abul (2012)."Railway".InIslam, Sirajul;Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh(Second ed.).Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^Report on the administration of North East India (1921-22).Mittal Publications. 1984. p. 46.Retrieved16 December2011.
- ^S.N. Singh; Amarendra Narain; Purnendu Kumar (January 2006).Socio Economic and Political Problems of Tea Garden Workers: A Study of Assam.Mittal Publications, New Delhi. p. 105.ISBN978-81-8324-098-7.Retrieved16 December2011.
- ^World Survey of Foreign Railways.Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 211.
- ^abHistoryArchived15 November 2007 at theWayback Machine,Bangladesh Railway,People's Republic of Bangladesh,Retrieved: 11 January 2007
- ^Rao, M.A. (1988).Indian Railways,New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.37
- ^"History".Northeast Frontier Railway. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2014.Retrieved24 February2012.
- ^"History".Bangladesh Railways. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2007.Retrieved24 February2012.
- ^"Chapter 1 - Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background".Ministry of Railways, India website. Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2009.
- ^Rao, M.A. (1988).Indian Railways,New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-3
- ^"Sealdah division-Engineering details".The Eastern Railway, Sealdah division. Archived fromthe originalon 15 February 2012.
- ^"Indian Railway Classification".Retrieved10 November2022.
- ^World Survey of Foreign Railways.Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. pp.210–219.