Assam-Bengal Railway
| Assam-Bengal Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Chittagong to Tinsukia Lumding to Gauhati Lakshar to Chandpur (branch) Badarpur to Silchar (branch) | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 740 miles (1905) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1891 | Construction started | |
| 1898 | First section opened to traffic | |
| 1904 | Traffic running throughout the length of the railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | ||
| System agency | ||
| 1892 | Assam-Bengal Railway | |
| 1942 | Bengal and Assam Railway | |
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
| Assam-Bengal Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
 Assam-Bengal Railway device | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1892 | Company formed to manage state line | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1892 | Assam-Bengal Railway | |
| Noakhali (Bengal) Railway | ||
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Chittagong | |
| Workshops | ||
| Major Stations | ||
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1942 | Bengal and Assam Railway | |
| System mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 775 miles (1905) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| Assam Bengal Railway Battalion | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Assam-Bengal Railway (ABR) was a metre gauge(MG) railway built to connect the highlands of Assam with the port of Chittagong. [1]
Branch Lines
- Assam Valley Branch Railway, opened in stages 1897-1900
- Bhairab Bazar Branch Railway , opened 1910
- Chandpur Branch Railway, opened 1895
- Chittagong Port Branch Railway, opened 1895; constructed to convey tea to Chittagong port; line extended, 1903
- Hajiganj-Shatnal Railway Survey. Branch line surveyed by ABR, 1897; still pending 1906; apparently not constructed
- Naginimora Branch Railway, under construction 1911
- Silchar Branch Railway, opened 1899
- Sylhet Branch Railway, under construction 1911, completed 1916 with opening of Kusiyara Bridge.
Lines worked by ABR
- Chaparmukh Silghat Railway, opened 1908 and being worked by ABR 1919
- Katakhal Lalbazar Railway; Under construction 1921 by private company; worked by ABR, 1923
- Mymensingh-Bhairab Bazar Railway; Constructed 1912-18, worked by ABR
- Netrakona-Mohanganj Railway Constructed 1912-18, worked by ABR; part of Mymensingh-Bhairab Bazar Railway
- Noakhali (Bengal) Railway, opened 1902; Worked by ABR until merged into ABR 1906
- Pandu Ghat-Gauhati Railway, opened 1908, Link constructed by Eastern Bengal Railway(EBR) from Amingaon-Pandu Train Ferry to ABR network; worked by ABR; transferred to ABR 1922
Records
Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library
An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway [2] gives 65 references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/1 “Records of the Assam Bengal Railway Company; 1892-1941”
- L/F/7/141-145 “Finance Department - Assam Bengal Railway Company; 1892-1941”
As a state managed railway a search of the following may provide information: -
- L/F/8/1-20 "Appointments to State Railways made in the UK 1855-1946"
- Z/L/F/8/1-2 Index to Appointments to State Railways made in the UK 1855-1946"
External links
- The Assam-Bengal railway: 'The Romantic East: Burma, Assam, and Kashmir by Walter del Mar (1852 - 1944); Chapter XII, pages 107-8. Published by Adam and Charles Black, London, 1906. and reproduced at http://www.irfca.org/docs/history/romantic-east.html
- Take this train at your own peril by Jaideep Mazumdar February 23, 2013 timescrest.com. "The rail route through the Borail Hill Range between Lumding and Badarpur in Assam is considered to be an engineering marvel with 37 tunnels and a series of stunning bridges and viaducts spanning deep gorges and ravines. During the construction of this rail line, which took 11 years (it was completed in 1903) many died of malaria, diarrhoea, other diseases, attacks by wild animals. There were also killer landslides".