Bengal and Assam Railway
| Bengal and Assam Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
 Bengal and Assam Railway 1942-47 device | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1942 | Formed from 2 existing systems | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1942 | Assam-Bengal Railway | |
| 1942 | Eastern Bengal Railway | |
| 1942-1945 | Dibru-Sadiya Railway | |
| 1943 | Jorhat (Provincial) State Railway | |
| 1944 | Sara-Sirajgonj Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Calcutta | |
| Workshops | Kanchrapara (EB Zone) | |
| Major Stations | ||
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1947 | Division of system following Partition | |
| 1947 1952 |
B&AR within India renamed Assam Railway AR merged into North Eastern Railway] (IR zone) | |
| 1947 1961 1972 |
B&AR within East Pakistan renamed Eastern Bengal Railway EBR renamed Pakistan Eastern Railway PER renamed Bangladesh Railway | |
| System mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 898 miles (1943) | |
| Metre gauge | 2543 miles (1943) | |
| 2' 6" NG | 37 miles (1943) | |
| 2' 0" | 32 miles (1943) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| Assam Bengal Railway Battalion Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Bengal and Assam Railway (B&AR) was formed on 1 January 1942 by the amlgamation of the Assam-Bengal Railway (ABR) with the Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR).
History
On the expiry of the Assam-Bengal Railway's contract at the end of 1941, the Government of India exercised its option and took over the ABR, merging it with the EBR to create the Bengal and Assam Railway. On 1 April 1942, the BAR took over operational control of the Dibru-Sadiya Railway for the duration of the war (WW2). On 1 October 1943, the GoI took over the Jorhat (Provincial) State Railway and on 1 October 1944, the Sara-Sirajgonj Railway, merging both in turn into the B&AR.
For administrative convenience, the section of the B&AR west of the Brahmaputra was referred to as the EB Zone and that to the east as the AB Zone, retaining the nomenclature in use before the amalgamation.
In 1947, the B&AR was divided between the two new nations of India and Pakistan. That part remaining in India was renamed the Assam Railway; in 1952, this was merged into a new zone of Indian Railways, North Eastern Railway.
The part of B&AR within the area of East Pakistan was renamed the Eastern Bengal Railway with ownership and control vested in the Central Government of Pakistan. In 1961, the system was further renamed Pakistan Eastern Railway.
In 1972, Pakistan Eastern Railway became Bangladesh Railway.
External links
- "Bangladesh Railway" Wikipedia.
- Railway Banglapedia (National Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh)
- Brief History of Bangladesh Railway. Bangladesh Railway Information.