Midnapore-Jherriah Coalfield Railway Survey
The Midnapore-Jherriah Coalfield Railway Survey was undertaken in the period 1894-98 and it was reported as follows:- [1] :-
”Detailed plans and estimates of the various feeder lines for the extensions of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway(BNR) between Midnapore and Jherriah with a view to tapping the coalfields and to give another outlet to Calcutta have been submitted “
Place Name Note
- Midnapore (now called Medinipur)
- Jherriah was an area, later a town with spelling Jharia, and in some records given as Jerriah.
- The area originally identified as the ‘Jerriah Coalfield’ included the towns/villages as follows:- Loyabad, Mudidih, Teetunmuri, Budroochuck, Katras, Choytoodih and Jumoni, in the Jerriah field [2].
As will be seen on the page Jharia Coalfield Railways, as time went on the extent of the coalfield expanded considerably.
The railways to the Jharia Coalfields permitted exploitation and were developed by the East Indian Railway(EIR) from Dhanbad with the opening of the line in May 1894 and a year later another line from Kusunda to Pathardi. The Bengal Nagpur Railway(BNR) developed the route from the south in 1904
Further Information
See separate page Jharia Coalfield Railways
Associated Information
See also Ranchi Plateau Coalfield Railway Survey as this is included in the same 1894-98 Report