Changes

|timeline2date= 1868|timeline2details= [[Calcutta and South Eastern Railway]] mergertaken over

|timeline4date= 1915|timeline4details= Opening of [[Hardinge Bridge]] at Sara Ghat

|company1= 1884|company1details= [[Eastern Bengal Railway]]|company2=1868

|workshop= [[Kanchrapara]], [[Saidpur]] <br>''See'' [[EBR Railway Workshops]]

The '''Eastern Bengal Railway''' Company (EBR) was formed as a [[Guaranteed Railways|Guaranteed Railway]] company in 1857 for "the construction and working of a line from [[Calcutta ]] to [[Dacca]], with a branch to [[Jessore]]. Capital 1,000,000''l''. 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 1,000,000''l''." <supref>1"Money Market and City Intelligence", ''The Times'', Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a. </supref>.

== History ==The first construction started in October 1859. Isambard Kingdom Brunel had been engaged in Britain as consulting engineer to the EBR and [[Bradford Leslie]], an English civil engineer who specialised in bridges, was sent to India as engineer in charge of bridges and viaducts. He supervised the building of the Eschamutter and Koormar river bridges before returning to Britain in 1861. He returned to India in 1865 and became Chief Engineer and Agent <ref> [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Leslie Wikipedia "Bradford Leslie"]; Retrieved on 5 May 2016</ref><ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PpJMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT74&lpg=PT74&dq=southern+punjab+railway+company&source=bl&ots=R1AsTgkegr&sig=CzpHod72_VMtjRKj6Ire4zWNOV4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyqrig1rXMAhVrJMAKHY0EDRc4ChDoAQg3MAU#v=onepage&q=southern%20punjab%20railway%20company&f=false Google Books “New Delhi: The Last Imperial City- Sir Bradford Leslie and the meaning of Empire, Chapter 5.3” by D. Johnson, Richard Watson"]; Retrieved on 2 Jun 2016</ref>.

The first track was laid along [[Franklin Prestage]] became the Agent for the EBR in the early 1870's. In its original contract with the east bank Secretary of State for India, the Ganga EBR Company was to open a rail-line to [[KushthiaDarjeeling]] and then across . However the river to [[DaccaGovernment of India]]. The line took a decision to Kushthia was opened in 1862, ending stop expansion of rail-lines by Guaranteed companies in new areas and instead decided to construct and manage new rail-lines as [[Calcutta:Category:State Railways|State Railways]] at . Prestage resigned from EBR and in 1879 set up the [[SealdahDarjeeling Steam Tramway]]Company <ref>[http://www.irfca.org/articles/eminent-railwaymen. The EBR became the html#prestage “Eminent Railwaymen of Yesteryears” by R R Bhandari July 2008, reproduced by IRFCA ''Indian Railways Fan Club'Eastern Bengal State Railway''', owned and managed by the Government of India (GoI), ] Retrieved on 30 June 18842 Jun 2016</ref>.

The GoI merged EBR became the [[Calcutta and South '''Eastern Bengal State Railway]] into the '''(EBSR), owned and several others in 1887. In 1904, the EBSR took over managed by the Government of India([[Bengal Central Railway]] which it had previously been working, and the [[Brahmaputra-Sultanpur RailwayGovernment of India |GoI]]. In 1915, the system reverted to the style), '''Eastern Bengal Railway'''on 30 June 1884.

During The GoI merged the 1920s, broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) [[Calcutta and South Eastern Railway]] into the EBR continued to grow by merger and amalgamationEBSR, and also began to convert sections of in 1887 several metre gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]]) and narrow gauge to eliminate rail bottlenecks. On 1 January 1941, the GoI acquired the [[Bengal Dooars RailwayRail_gauge#Narrow_Gauge|NG]] and merged it into railwaysRailways – this giving the three Rail Gauges that made up the EBRnetwork.

In 19421915, the GoI merged the EBR with the [[Assam Bengal Railway]] system reverted to create the [[style, '''Eastern Bengal and Assam Railway]]'''.

The following are held in In 1942, the GoI merged the EBR with the [[India Office RecordsAssam Bengal Railway]] at to create the [[British LibraryBengal and Assam Railway]]. *'''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.   == External links == [http://www.railway.gov.bd/brief_history.asp "Brief History"] ''Bangladesh Railway''.

== Notes External Links== *[http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Railway Banglapedia "National Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh" Railway]*[http://inforail.blogspot.com/2012/10/brief-history-of-bangladesh-railway.html "Brief History of Bangladesh Railway" Bangladesh Railway Information]

== References ==<sup>1<references /sup> "Money Market and City Intelligence", ''The Times'', Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.