Agra Railways & Stations
Agra Railways & Stations
Agra was an important railhead and junction. There were three railway systems linking together, these being both Metre Gauge(MG) (MG) and Broad Gauge(BG)
The records show there were at least 11 Railway Stations in the Agra District.
Two railway bridges crossed the Jumna River, (later named the Yamuna River):-
Agra Railways
Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR)
Marked Green on Map
- ‘Agra-Bandikui Branch Line’, from Bandikui, the Metre Gauge(MG) line reached ‘Agra Fort Station’ in 1873-4, crossing the Jumna/Yamuna River by the ‘Yamuna Railway Bridge(Agra)’ and extended in 1876 to the MG Terminus at ‘Agra East Bank Station’
Operated as a ‘BB&CIR MG Branch Line’ - see separate page
- ‘Agra-Bayana Branch Line’ from Bayana, the Broad Gauge(BG) line reached Agra in 1913 to the ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ and ‘Agra Fort Station’ via the ‘Yamuna Railway Bridge(Agra)’ to ‘Agra Junction Station’ (became ‘Jumna/Yamuna Bridge Station’) with connection to the EIR system
Operated as a branch part of the ’BB&CIR Godhra-Ratlam-Nagda Railway Section’ - see separate page
Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR)
Marked Brown on Map
- ‘Agra-Delhi Chord Railway’was a Broad Gauge(BG) line built to provide extra track capacity between Agra and Delhi and opened in 1904-05. The BG line entered the District from the west at ‘Bilochpara Station’, to ‘Alumganj Station’ where the line divided:-
- through ‘Drummond Road Station’, where the line became mixed BG and MG, into ‘Balanganj Station’ and branched to ‘Agra City Station’
- through ‘Raja-Ki-Mandi Station’, where the line became mixed BG and MG, into ‘Agra Cantonment Station
The line was worked as part of the ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway’ 'GIPR Lines Worked ‘ - see separate page
- ‘GIPR Midland Mainline’ was a BG line from Bhopal via Jhansi to ‘Agra Cantonment Station’, opened 1878-81, originally constructed by the ‘Indian Midland Railway’. From ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ there was a branch to join the BB&CIR ‘Agra-Bayana Branch Line’ and also a branch through ‘Idgah Station’ to the BB&CIR line into ‘Agra Fort Station’ via the ‘Jamuna Railway Bridge(Agra)’ to ‘Agra Junction Station’ (became ‘Jumna/Yamuna Bridge Station’) with connection to the EIR system .The BG line was extended from ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ to connect to theBB&CIR in 1905 and the ‘Agra-Delhi Chord Railway’ in 1906.
The line became the ‘GIPR Midland Mainline’ - see separate page
- ‘GIPR Agra-Bah Section, NE line’, was a (BG) line from ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ to Bah, 43 miles(69km) to the east of Agra, opened 1918
The line became the ‘GIPR Agra-Bah’ - see separate page
East Indian Railway(EIR)
Marked Red on Map
- ‘EIR Agra Branch Line’ was a Broad Gauge(BG) line from Tundla to ‘Jumna Bridge Station’, 1862 extended in 1907 via the ‘Strachey Road/Railway Bridge’ to ‘Agra City Station’, thus connecting the EIR to join with the GIPR system
The line became the ‘EIR Agra Branch Line’ - see separate page
Agra Stations
Agra has had a number of stations, some only taking the Broad Gauge(BG) lines, some the Metre Gauge(MG) and some taking both Gauges.
The names of which changed over time and many are no longer operational.
Known stations in alphabetic order are:
- ‘Agra Cantonment Station’(GIPR, BB&CIR) - BG - a main GIPR station, also serving the BB&CIR branch - located near the Sadar Bazaar towards the southwest of the city.
- ‘Agra City Station’’ (GIPR , EIR) - was a GIPR BG main station, also serving EIR - in the northern part of the city
- ‘Agra East Bank Station’ (BB&CIR, EIR) - a BB&CIR MG Terminal Station, also for EIR and GIPR BG through traffic- on the opposite side of the river to the Fort
- ‘Agra Fort Station’ (BB&CIR , EIR, GIPR) - MG and BG through traffic - next to the Fort
- ‘Agra Jail Station’ (GIPR) - BG became ‘Bilochpura Station’ in the north west of the city, by the District Jail
- ‘Agra Junction Station’(EIR, GIPR) - BG - became ‘Jumna/Yamuna Bridge Station’, on the right/east bank of the Jumna river
- ‘Agra Road Station’(GIPR) - BG - to the south west of the cantonment, near the Sadar Bazaar - exact location not found thought to replaced by ‘Agra Canttonment Station’
- ‘Alumganj Station’ (GIPR) - BG - a junction station between the two GIPR branches
- ‘Belanganj Station’(GIPR) - MG and BG - two terminal stations - BB&CIR MG line and GIPR BG line
- ‘Bilochpara Station’ (GIPR) - BG - earlier name ‘Agra Jail Station’
- ‘Drummond Road Station’- MG and BG - in the north-western part of the city - a junction station with both BG and MG
- ‘Idgah Station’ (GIPR , BB&CIR) - BG and MG - in Idgah colony in the southwest of Agra
- ‘Jumna Bridge Station’ (EIR , GIPR) - BG - previously named ‘Agra Junction Station’ - an EIR Station and a junction with the BB&CIR BG line
- ‘Raja-ki-Mandi Station’(GIPR) - MG and BG - in the north-western part of the city - a junction station with both BG and MG
Agra Fort Railway Station The most important Railway Stations in Agra were as follows:-
This station, which opened in 1874, is located near Agra Fort, in Rawatpara, Agra. There was a spacious, octagonal Tripolia Chowk which existed between the Jama Masjid and the Delhi gate of the Agra Fort. This Tropolia was destroyed in order to create the ‘Agra Fort Railway Station’, which was also the first Railway Station of Agra and also one of the oldest in the country. It used to be one of the stations in India that had both broad gauge and metre gauge, until the line to Jaipur was converted to broad gauge. [1].
The following lines operated into this station - see ‘Railways’ above
- ‘BB&CIR Agra-Bandikui Branch Line’, from Bandikui, the MG line reached ‘Agra Fort Station’ in 1873-4,
- ‘Agra-Bayana Branch Line’ from Bayana, the BG line reached Agra in 1913 to the ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ and ‘Agra Fort Station’
- ‘GIPR Midland Mainline’ was a BG line from Bhopal via Jhansi to ‘Agra Cantonment Station’, opened 1878-81, originally constructed by the ‘Indian Midland Railway’. From ‘Agra Cantonment Station’ there was a branch to join the BB&CIR ‘Agra-Bayana Branch Line’ and also a branch through ‘Idgah Station’ to the BB&CIR line into ‘Agra Fort Station’
Agra Cantonment Railway Station
This is the main railway station in Agra and is located near the Sadar Bazaar towards the southwest of the city[2]. The station first opened in 1878-81 and reconstructed in 1904
The following lines operated into this station - see ‘Railways’ above
- ‘GIPR Midland Mainline’ was a BG line from Bhopal via Jhansi to ‘Agra Cantonment Station’, opened 1878-81, originally constructed by the ‘Indian Midland Railway’.
- ‘GIPR Agra-Delhi Chord Railway’ was a Broad Gauge(BG) line built to provide extra track capacity between Agra and Delhi and opened in 1904-05 into ‘Agra Cantonment Station’
- ‘BB&CIR Agra-Bayana Branch Line’ from Bayana, the BG line reached Agra in 1913 branching to the ‘Agra Cantonment Station’
Agra City Railway Station
This is a railway and bus station in the heart of the old city in Agra, India. It is near Belangunj, which is the trading hub of Agra. The station is a relic of the past and at present very few trains stop here. The station belonged to ‘Great Indian Peninsular Railway’ in British era and was built in 1903 by Mistris of Kutch
[3].
The following lines operated into this station - see ‘Railways’ above
- ‘GIPR Agra-Delhi Chord Railway’was a BG line built to provide extra track capacity between Agra and Delhi and opened in 1904-05. The BG line entered the District from the west at ‘Bilochpara Station’, to ‘Alumganj Station’ where the line divided, one branch through ‘Drummond Road Station’, where the line became mixed BG and MG, into ‘Balanganj Station’ and branched to ‘Agra City Station’
- ‘EIR Agra Branch Line’ was a BG line from Tundla to ‘Jumna Bridge Station’, 1862 extended in 1907 via the ‘Strachey Road/Railway Bridge ’ to ‘Agra City Station’,
Further Information
See separate pages
References
- ↑ Tourist Link ‘Agra Fort Railway Station; Retrieved 28 Jan 2021
- ↑ Wikipedia ‘Agra Cantonment Station’; Retrieved 28 Jan 2021
- ↑ Wikipedia ‘ Agra City Station; Retrieved 28 Jan 2021