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> ==Branch Lines and extensions==*[[Budge-Budge Branch Railway]] opened 1890. Branch line of EBR*[[Canning Branch Railway]] opened 1862-63. Branch line of EBR *[[Chitpur Branch Railway]] opened 1873. Branch line of EBR *[[Dalsingpara Branch Railway]] opened after 1811. Branch of Jainti Section of EBR ; under construction in 1911*[[Dhubri Branch Railway]] opened 1902. Branch of Assam Section of EBR.*[[Faridpur Branch Railway]] opened 1898-99. Branch from Poradaha Section of EBR*[[Gauhati Branch Railway]] opened 1906. Part of Assam Section of EBR incorporating part of [[Kaunia-Dharlia State Tram/Railway]]; extended up to 1909*[[Goalundo Branch Railway]] opened 1862. Branch from Poradaha Section of EBR ; extended up to 1882.*[[Godagari Ghat Branch Railway]] opened 1909. Branch from Katihar Section of EBR *[[Jainti Branch Railway]] opened 1900-1. Branch of Jainti Section of EBR*[[Jogbani Branch Railway]] opened 1887. Branch from Katihar Section of EBR ; extended 1909*[[Kankurgachi Chord Railway]] opened 1907. Short connecting section of EBR*[[Katihar Branch Railway]] opened 1883. Branch of Katihar Section of EBR ; opened 1883 and extended 1889*[[Kaunia-Bonarpara Extension Railway]] opened 1905. Extension to EBR network*[[Khulna Branch Railway]] opened 1883-4. Originally [[Bengal Central Railway]]; in 1905 became Branch line of EBR *[[Kishanganj Branch Railway]] opened 1892. Branch from Katihar Section of EBR*[[Kurigram Branch Railway]] opened 1882. Branch line of Eastern Bengal State Railway*[[Lalgola Ghat Branch Railway]] opened 1905. Branch line of EBR ; opened 1905, extended 1907*[[Lalmonirhat-Gitalaha(Geetaldaha) Railway]] opened c.1900. Link between [[Bengal Dooars Railway]] and [[Cooch Behar State Railway]].*[[Manihari Branch Railway]] opened 1887. Branch from Katihar Section of EBR *[[Murshidabad Branch Railway]] opened 1909. Branch line of EBR*[[Patipukur Loop Railway]] opened 1904. Chord line of EBR for goods*[[Raiti Branch Railway]] opened 1910. Branch from Poradaha Section of EBR*[[Tanga Branch Railway]]. Branch of Assam Section of EBR ; under construction, 1911

==Railways absorbed into EBRHistory==*[[Bengal Central Railway]] opened 1882The first construction started in October 1859. Private company without guarantee; merged into Isambard Kingdom Brunel had been engaged in Britain as consulting engineer to the EBR , 1905*and [[Bengal Dooars RailwayBradford Leslie]](BDR) opened 1893. Independent Company operation small MG network; , merged into EBR an English civil engineer who specialised in bridges, 1941*[[Brahmaputra-Sultanpur Railway]] opened 1899. Amalgamated with EBR , 1904 together with [[Phulchari Branch Railway]] was sent to India as engineer in charge of bridges and [[Santahar-Kaunia Loop Railway]]viaducts. *[[Calcutta He supervised the building of the Eschamutter and South Eastern Railway]] opened 1862Koormar river bridges before returning to Britain in 1861. Surrendered He returned to [[Government of India |GoI]] , 1 Apr 1868; Worked by State, 1868-70; by EBR, 1870-74; merged into EBR, 1884*[[Cooch Behar State Railway]] opened 1893. State railway, worked in 1865 and became Chief Engineer and finally bought by EBR c.1899*Agent <ref> [[Dacca State Railway]] opened 1885https://en. Formerly [[Narayanganj-Dacca-Mymensingh State Railway]] ; merged into EBR , 1887; becoming Dacca Section of EBR *[[Diamond Harbour Line Railway]] opened 1862wikipedia. First opened as [[Calcutta and South Eastern Railway]org/wiki/Bradford_Leslie Wikipedia "Bradford Leslie"]; merged into EBR , 1884Retrieved on 5 May 2016</ref>*<ref>[[Kaunia-Dharlia State Tramhttps://Railway]] opened 1884-85books. Constructed by EBR as [[Rail_gauge#Metre_Gauge|NG]] Tram, converted to [[Rail_gauge#Metre_Gauge|NG]], 1901; part to EBR Gauhati Branch ; part to BDR Kurigram Branch *[[Kaunia-Kurigram Railway]] opened cgoogle.1885co. Narrow gauge(NG); merged into EBR 1887; converted to metre gauge 1928uk/29.*[[Mymensinghbooks?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-Jamalpur-Jagannath Railway]] opened 1898. Owned by [[Indian General Navigation and Railway Company]]; worked Sir Bradford Leslie and finally purchased by EBR * [[Northern Bengal State Railway]](NBSR)opened 1877. Merged into EBR , 1887; becoming the EBR North Bengal Section*[[Poradah Branch Railway]] opened c.1880. Constructed by [[Northern Bengal State Railway]](NBSR) but worked by EBR; apparently taken over by EBR c.1913*[[Ranagat-Bangaon Railway]] opened 1882. Opened as part meaning of [[Bengal Central Railway]]; became section of EBR Empire, 1905*[[Ranaghat-Krishnagar Light Railway]] opened 1899Chapter 5. Narrow gauge(NG), via Shantipur3” by D. Constructed by [[Martin's Light Railways]] Company taken over by EBRJohnson, 1904*[[Santipur-Nabadwip Light RailwayRichard Watson"]] opened 1898. Constructed by [[Martin's Light Railways]] Company; taken over by EBR , 1904 *[[Sara-Sirajgonj Railway]] opened 1915-16Retrieved on 2 Jun 2016</ref>. Private company, worked by EBR, finally purchased by EBR

==Lines worked [[Franklin Prestage]] became the Agent for the EBR in the early 1870's. In its original contract with the Secretary of State for India, the EBR Company was to open a rail-line to [[Darjeeling]]. However the [[Government of India]] took a decision to stop expansion of rail-lines by Guaranteed companies in new areas and instead decided to construct and manage new rail-lines as [[:Category:State Railways|State Railways]]. Prestage resigned from EBR at some time== and in 1879 set up the [[Darjeeling Steam Tramway]] Company <ref>[http://www.irfca.org/articles/eminent-railwaymen.html#prestage “Eminent Railwaymen of Yesteryears” by R R Bhandari July 2008, reproduced by IRFCA ''Indian Railways Fan Club''] Retrieved on 2 Jun 2016</ref>.

==Train Ferry Links The EBR==became the '''Eastern Bengal State Railway'''(EBSR), owned and managed by the Government of India([[Government of India |GoI]]), on 30 June 1884.

The first track was laid along the east bank of In 1915, the Ganga system reverted to [[Kushthia]] and then across the river to [[Dacca]]. The line to Kushthia was opened in 1862style, ending in [[Calcutta]] at [[Sealdah]]. The EBR became the '''Eastern Bengal State Railway''', owned and managed by the Government of India (GoI), on 30 June 1884.

The GoI merged During the [[Calcutta 1920s, the EBR continued to grow by merger and South Eastern Railway]] into the EBSRamalgamation, and several others in 1887. In 1904, the EBSR took over the [[Bengal Central Railway]] which it had previously been working, also began to convert sections of metre and the [[Brahmaputra-Sultanpur Railway]]. In 1915, the system reverted narrow gauge to the style, '''Eastern Bengal Railway'''eliminate rail bottlenecks.

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.

== Records EBR Lines owned and worked == The following are held in development of the [[India Office Records]] at the [[British Library]]. *'''L/AG/46/10/35''' : Contracts of appointment (1862-1869). The above EBR network is partially indexed detailed in *a separate page '''Z/L/AG/46''' : [[Eastern Bengal Railway 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/history "Brief History"Lines owned and worked]] ''Bangladesh Railway'' broken down into the three Rail Gauge Divisions.  

== 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.