Eastern Bengal Railway

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Eastern Bengal Railway
[[Image:|150px| ]]
Line of route
Calcutta to Faridpur (BG) with branches to
Budge Budge, Diamond Harbour, Lalgola
Gauge / mileage
Broad gauge 495 miles (1905)
Metre gauge 637 miles (1905)
2' 6" NG 55 miles (1905)
Timeline
1857 Formed as Guaranteed company
Calcutta and South Eastern Railway merger
1884 Taken over by State
Key locations
Presidency Bengal
Stations Sealdah, Dum Dum, Naihati, Kaliganga, Rajbari, Goalundo, Ranaghat, Krishnagar, Plassey, Murshidabad
System agency
1884 State agency
How to interpret this infobox
Eastern Bengal Railway

Eastern Bengal Railway device
System timeline
1884 Renamed Eastern Bengal State Railway
1915 Reverted to Eastern Bengal Railway
Constituent companies / lines
1884 Eastern Bengal Railway
Calcutta and South Eastern Railway
1887 Dacca State Railway
1887 Northern Bengal State Railway
1887 Kaunia-Kurigram Railway
Cooch Behar Railway
Mymensingh-Jamalpur-Jagannath Railway
1904 Bengal Central Railway
Brahmaputra-Sultanpur Railway
1941 Bengal Dooars Railway
Key locations
Headquarters Calcutta
Workshops Kanchrapara
Major Stations Bangaon, Jessore,
Successor system / organisation
1942 Merged into Bengal and Assam Railway
System mileage
Broad gauge 495 miles (1905)
Metre gauge 688 miles (1905)
2' 6" NG 89 miles (1905)
Associated auxiliary force
Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion
How to interpret this infobox

The Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR) was formed in 1857 for "the construction and working of a line from Calcutta to Dacca, with a branch to Jessore. Capital 1,000,000l. This amount has been sanctioned for the line from Calcutta to the Ganges at Kooshtee(Kushtia), near Pubnah, about 80 miles, all that is authorised to be proceeded with at present. Rate of Interest Guaranteed - 5 per cent on 1,000,000l." 1

History

The first construction started in October 1859 and the first train ran between Sealdah and Ranaghat in September 1862. Thereafter further phases considerably extended the reach of the line and, by 1866, it linked Calcutta to Kushtia. The company had also acquired a steam vessel service operating between Kushtia and Dacca. [1]

The EBR became the Eastern Bengal State Railway(EBSR), owned and managed by the Government of India(GoI), on 30 June 1884.

The GoI merged the Calcutta and South Eastern Railway into the EBSR, and several others in 1887. In 1904, the EBSR took over the Bengal Central Railway which it had previously been working, and the Brahmaputra-Sultanpur Railway. In 1915, the system reverted to the style, Eastern Bengal Railway. [2] [3] [4]

During the 1920s, the EBR continued to grow by merger and amalgamation, and also began to convert sections of metre and narrow gauge to eliminate rail bottlenecks. On 1 January 1941, the GoI acquired the Bengal Dooars Railway and merged it into the EBR.

In 1942, the GoI merged the EBR with the Assam Bengal Railway to create the Bengal and Assam Railway.

Branch Lines and extensions

Railways absorbed into EBR

Lines worked by EBR at some time

Train Ferry Links EBR

Records

The following are held in the India Office Records at the British Library.

  • L/AG/46/10/35 : Contracts of appointment (1862-1869).

The above is partially indexed in

  • Z/L/AG/46 : Index to UK Appointments to Indian Railways (1849-1925)

The following is not included in the index Z/L/AG/46.

  • L/AG/46/10/35 : Lists of staff, 1879-1881.

Notes

1 "Money Market and City Intelligence", The Times, Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.

References