Lucknow Railways and Stations
Lucknow Railways and Stations
Contents
Railways running into Lucknow
O&RR System
O&RR Cawnpore Branch Line
The ‘Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway ’(O&RR) constructed their first line from Lucknow to Cawnpore, this Broad Gauge(BG) line opened in April 1867 from Lucknow to the east bank of the Ganges River facing Cawnpore, then from 1875 over the ‘Ganges River Bridge, Cawnpore’ to join the ‘East Indian Railway’(EIR) at Cawnpore Junction.
The O&RR established their headquarters at Lucknow and workshops at Charbagh in the Lucknow suburbs which became the location of the ‘Charbagh Station’- see ‘Stations’ below
O&RR Mainline
Expansion continued with the ‘O&RR Mainline’ from Moghal Sarai reaching Lucknow in 1872-73 and fully completed to Saharanpur in 1893-94.
O&RR Benares-Lucknow Loop Line
The line from Benares via Fyzabad to Lucknow opened in 1872-74 - see separate page for development of O&RR
The O&RR operated into the BG ‘Lucknow Charbagh Station’ - see ‘Stations’ below
Finally in 1925 the O&RR was merged into the EIR
GIPR System
The ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway - GIPR -Cawnpore Branch’ , BG had a ‘Running Agreement’ over the O&RR track from Cawnpore into Lucknow
[1].
This line also operated into the BG ‘Lucknow Charbagh Station’ - see ‘Stations’ below
R&KR System
R&KR Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway
The ‘Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway’ (R&KR) worked the ‘Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway’ Metre Gauge(MG) line from Lucknow to Sitapur in 1886 and on to Bareilly - see separate page for development of R&KR
This R&RKR line operated into the MG ‘Lucknow Junction Station’ - see ‘Stations’ below
This line included the 3 mile(5km) section from Aisbagh (in the western suburbs of Lucknow) , over the Gomti River Bridge to Daliganj (in the northern suburbs of Lucknow.
This line was later used by the B&NWR as part of the ‘Cawnpore-Burhwal Railway’ - see below
B&NWR System
The ‘Bengal and North-Western Railway ’ ‘B&NWR Mainline’ was a Metre Gauge(MG) line and completed in 1896 from Sonpur to Burhwal - see separate page for BNR information
There was a necessity to connect the B&NWR at Burhwal via Lucknow to Cawnpore for connection and interchange to the rest of India – - see separate page for information on Cawnpore
B&NWR Cawnpore-Burhwal Railway
This line was constructed as a State MG line from Cawnpore via Lucknow to the B&NWR at Burwhal, 100 miles(160km), fully opened in 1897, formed by:-
- ‘Cawnpore-Aishbagh Section’ - the MG line, 45 miles(72km) opened in Nov 1897 as a MG line running alongside the Broad Gauge(BG) from the ‘O&RR Cawnpore-Lucknow Branch Line’ (see above) , The line was owned by the Government of India and managed as part of the ‘Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway. A ‘Running Agreement’ permitted the B&NWR to use this section.
- ‘Lucknow Section’ - the MG line, owned by ‘Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway’ (R&KR) - see below. The line ran from Aisbagh (in the western suburbs of Lucknow) , over the Gomti River Bridge to Daliganj (in the northern suburbs of Lucknow), 3 miles(5km) . This section operated into ‘Lucknow Junction Station’ - see ‘Stations’ below
- ‘Daliganj-Barabanki Section’ - 18 miles(29km) opened in 1896 as a MG line and constructed alongside the BG ‘O&RR Benares-Lucknow Loop’
- ’Barabanki-Burhwal Section’ - 17 miles(km) opened 1896 as a MG line by adding a third rail, to the BG line of the ‘O&RR Benares-Lucknow Loop’. A Running Agreement’ permitted the B&NWR to use this section.
Lucknow Stations
Original Lucknow Station
The first Broad Gauge (BG) station at Lucknow, served the ‘Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway ’(O&RR) from its opening in 1867 - see ‘Railways’ above
At the time of its construction the first station building was located within a large mango orchard away from the town. Prior to the advent of rail transport goods movement between these cities was done by bullock carts which took two days between Cawnpore and Lucknow [2].
The station building was developed over the years at Charbagh in the southern suburbs of Lucknow
Lucknow Charbagh Station (Broad Gauge)
Built at a price of ₹ 70 lakhs, Lucknow Charbagh was designed by J. H. Hornimen. The foundation of the railway station was placed in March 1914. The building was completed in 1923. A major role in its design and planning was carried out by Chaubey Mukta Prasad, a consulting engineer for Ms Lanebrown and Hulett It has a large garden in front of the building. It incorporates the mix of Rajput, Awadhi and Mughal architecture and has a palatial appearance. Architecturally, it is considered one of the most beautiful railway stations in India [3].
The station served the O&RR - see ‘Railways’ above, which was absorbed into the ‘East Indian Railway])’(EIR) in 1925. It also handled GIPR traffic under the ‘Running Agreement’.
This station is given the code LKO
Lucknow Junction Station (Metre Gauge)
‘Lucknow Junction Station ‘ is situated right next to ‘Lucknow Charbagh Station’ and was the original station serving the ‘Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway’ (R&KR) Metre Gauge(MG) - see ‘Railways’ above
The station served the R&KR, as well as the B&NWR traffic under the ‘Running Agreement’
The Station has been converted to broad gauge with the station code LJN
[4].
References
- ↑ “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 131 (pdf140) ; Retrieved 17 Jan 2021
- ↑ Acamedia.edu “Rail Architecture in India - “A National Heritage” by Govind Ballabh (Retd Chief Operations Manager Northern Railway), 2003 - Chapter 5, pages 23-24; Retrieved 17 Jan 2021
- ↑ Wikipedia ‘Charbagh Railway Station’; Retrieved 17 Jan 2021
- ↑ Wikipedia ‘Lucknow Junction Railway Station; Retrieved 17 Jan 2021
