Jamalpur Tunnel
The Jamalpur Tunnel, also described as the Monghyr Tunnel , was constructed in 1860-61 as part of the East Indian Railway (EIR) expansion from Howrah towards Delhi, when opened it was the EIR's first tunnel. The railway had reached Rajmahal in 1860, proceeded westward following the Ganges River reaching Bhagalpur in 1861, Jamalpur in 1862 and finally reaching Delhi in 1866 [1] [2]
The route required the construction of a tunnel through the Rajmahal range to cross the Jamalpur hills between Jamalpur and Ratanpur. The broad gauge(BG) railway was single track with crossing places and included the single track 275m long tunnel [3].
The growth of traffic in the early years of the East Indian Railway (EIR) far exceeded expectations. By 1866 the railway was carrying 4 million passengers and 8000,000 tons of freight. As a result the cost of upgrading the line, and the tunnel, to dual track to cope with the traffic and in order to shorten the route the 'First Chord Line' was constructed. When completed in 1871 it connected [[Raniganij] with Luckeesarai, and was designated as the mainline from Calcutta to Delhi cutting nearly 100 miles of the distance [4].
The original line, which included the Jamalpur Tunnel, became the Sahibganj Loop [4]. The line and tunnel is still in use, the entire section has upgraded to double BG track but through the existing tunnel only single BG track is available. In order to have double track for operating up and down traffic on separate lines through the Jamalpur hills, another tunnel in the close proximity to existing tunnel is envisaged [3]
The Tunnel
The tunnel is 900 feet(275mtr) in length, 23 feet(7mtr) in height and 26 feet(8mtr) in width [5].
References
- ↑ “Symphony of Progress - The Saga of the Eastern Railway 1854-2003”; published by Eastern Railway, 2003; page 13 and 14
- ↑ Wikimapia "Railway Tunnel Jamalpur"; Retrieved 13 June 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Design Of A Railway Tunnel by R.K. Goel (Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research), 2008"; Retrieved 13 June 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 “Symphony of Progress - The Saga of the Eastern Railway 1854-2003”; published by Eastern Railway, 2003; page 16-17
- ↑ Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers : Monghyr by L.S.S. O'malley, page 156; Retrieved 22 Dec 2020
