Barasat-Basirhat Light Railway
| Barasat-Basirhat Light Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Barasat to Basirhat | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| 2' 6" NG | 26 miles (1905) 52 miles (1943) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1914 | Line opened to traffic | |
| 1952 | Nationalised | |
| 1955 | Closed | |
| 1962 | Part converted to broad gauge and re-opened to traffic | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | Barasat, Kadamgacha, Diganga, Bishnupur, Basirhat | |
| System agency | ||
| Worked by Martin's Light Railways | ||
| 1952 | Eastern Railway (IR zone) | |
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Barasat-Basirhat Light Railway (BBLR) was a short 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) railway which ran from Barasat, on the Eastern Bengal Railway (Central Section), east for 26 miles to Basirhat. [1]
The Barasat-Basirhat Light Railway Company was one of several small narrow gauge concerns owned and worked by Martin's Light Railways, a management company based in Calcutta.
The line was taken over by Indian Railways in 1952 but closed in 1955. In 1962, part of the old track was converted to broad gauge and re-opened to traffic.
External links
- "Martin's Light Railways" Wikipedia.
- "History of Railway construction" Indian Railways Service of Engineers [see "Martin & Co" in table].
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 the following: -
- L/F/8/17/1371 “Messrs. Martin and Co. on behalf of the Baraset-Basirhat Light Railway Company Limited, Application for construction of an extension to the Baraset-Basirhat Light Railway; 1914”
