Northeast Frontier Railway zone

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Northeast Frontier Railway
3-Northeast Frontier Railway
N.F. Railway Headquarter, Maligaon
Overview
HeadquartersMaligaon, Guwahati
LocaleAssam, West Bengal, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Bihar
Dates of operationJanuary 15, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-01-15)
PredecessorNorth Eastern Railway
Technical
Track gaugeBroad gauge
Narrow gauge
Previous gaugeMetre gauge
Other
WebsiteNorth East Frontier Railway website

The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across Northeastern states and some districts of eastern Bihar and northern West Bengal.

Divisions[edit]

Northeast Frontier Railway is divided into 5 divisions:

Each of these divisions is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager, a Senior Administrative Grade officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India. The departmental setup at headquarters level and divisional setup in the field assists the General Manager in running the railways. Various departments namely engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecom, operations, commercial, safety, accounts, security, personal and medical are headed by a Senior Administrative Grade / Higher Administrative Grade officer, provide technical and operational support to the divisions in train operations.

History[edit]

Dibrugarh Railway Yard 1943

In 1881, the Assam Railway and Trading Company opened a metre gauge line 65 kilometres (40 mi) long from Dibrugarh to Makum. This company later started the first passenger train in Assam by the name of Dibru–Sadiya Railway. The North Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating two railway systems: the Assam Railway and Oudh and Tirhut Railway. Later, it was bifurcated into two railway zones on 15 January 1958, the North Eastern Railway and the Northeast Frontier Railway.[1] to better serve the needs of the northeastern states.

Operational area[edit]

Map of Northeast Frontier Railway zone railway lines
Guwahati railway station
Dibrugarh railway station
Siliguri Junction railway station
Agartala railway station
Kamakhya Junction railway station

The area of Northeast Frontier Railway operations is characterized by exceptional beauty and at the same time by some of the most arduous terrain. This difficult terrain limits the rail network expansion, and the only state with a decent rail network is Assam. The network is not broad gauge in many parts and the rail lines are antiquated with speeds at some sections being limited to a maximum of 30 km/h (19 mph). Before the Saraighat Bridge was constructed, passengers had to get down on the Amingaon side of the Brahmaputra and take a ferry across to Pandu Junction from where they could resume their journey. The majority of the tracks have been converted to BG and electrification is in process starting from Katihar till Guwahati.

Major sections[edit]

A few of the major sections under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone are:

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway[edit]

Darjeeling to Ghoom heritage narrow-gauge train

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is maintained and governed under the responsibility of Katihar division. It ascends 6,850 feet (2,090 m) from New Jalpaiguri; the climb begins at Sukna, continues uninterruptedly to Ghum (7,407 ft or 2,258 m) and descends the final 5 miles (8.0 km) to Darjeeling. After independence, India's partition resulted in the isolation of the Northeast region. Consequently, the DHR was merged into Assam Railways, it was closed for the construction of the Assam–Bengal link line and one of its extension lines to Kishanganj was converted to metre gauge. DHR's other extension line to Kalimpong was washed away due to floods. On reopening, the DHR was merged with North Eastern Railway in 1952 and later into Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958.

The DHR achieved worldwide fame for many reasons such as:

  • A gateway to the Himalayas
  • The tiny four-wheeled steam locomotives of the 19th century
  • The curves, loops, "Z"s and steep grades crisscrossing the road

An interest in DHR all along has ensured that it continues to operate notwithstanding very heavy losses. The steam locomotive is an icon of this Railway. Tindharia workshop has kept 13 locomotives surviving, some of which are over 100 years old and the youngest is about 70 years old.

Timeline of DHR:

  • 20 January 1948: Purchased by the Government of India
  • 26 January 1948: Transferred to Assam Rail Link
  • 26 January 1950: Transferred to Assam Railway
  • 14 January 1952: Transferred to North Eastern Railway
  • 15 January 1958: Transferred to Northeast Frontier Railway

Major Trains[edit]

Number Train Name Starting Station Terminating Station
20503/20504 20505/20506 Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express Dibrugarh New Delhi
22503/22504 Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek Express Dibrugarh Kanyakumari
15909/15910 Avadh Assam Express Dibrugarh Lalgarh
15657/15658 Brahmaputra Mail Kamakhya Old Delhi
20501/20502 Agartala Tejas Rajdhani Express Agartala Anand Vihar Terminal
12504/12503 Agartala–SMVT Bengaluru Humsafar Express Agartala SMVT Bengaluru Terminal
15959/15960 15961/15962 Kamrup Express Dibrugarh Howrah
12513/12514 Silchar–Secunderabad Express Silchar Secunderabad
12519/12520 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Agartala AC Express Agartala Lokmanya Tilak Terminus
12507/12508 Aronai Express Thiruvananthapuram Silchar
12509/12510 Guwahati-SMVT Bengaluru Superfast Express Guwahati SMVT Bengaluru
15903/15904 Dibrugarh-Chandigarh Express Dibrugarh Chandigarh
15933/15934 New Tinsukia–Amritsar Express New Tinsukia Amritsar
15645/15646 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Dibrugarh Express Dibrugarh Lokmanya Tilak Terminus
15635/15636 Dwarka Express Guwahati Okha
15653/15654 Amarnath Express Guwahati Jammu Tawi
15655/15656 Kamakhya–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express Guwahati Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
22511/22512 Kamakhya–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Karmabhoomi Express Kamakhya Lokmanya Tilak Terminus
12505/12506 North East Express Kamakhya Anand Vihar Terminal
15667/15668 Kamakhya–Gandhidham Superfast Express Kamakhya Gandhidham
15655/15656 New Tinsukia–SMVT Bengaluru Superfast Express New Tinsukia SMVT Bengaluru
15929/15930 New Tinsukia–Tambaram Express New Tinsukia Tambaram

Loco sheds[edit]

Sicklines & Pitlines[edit]

  • Dibrugarh Coaching Depot, Dibrugarh
  • Pitline, Dibrugarh
  • N.F.Railway Mechanical Workshop, Dibrugarh
  • Coach Maintenance Depot/Sickline, Guwahati
  • Pitline, Guwahati
  • Pitline, New Guwahati
  • New Bongaigaon Carriage & Wagon Workshop, New Bongaigaon
  • Coach Maintenance Depot, Kamakhya
  • Automatic Coach Washing Pitline, Kamakhya
  • Silchar Coaching Depot, Silchar
  • Pitline, Silchar
  • DEMU cum Sick Shed, Agartala
  • Pitline, Agartala
  • Routine Overhaul(ROH) Depot, New Tinsukia
  • Tinsukia Carriage Depot, Tinsukia

Major stations[edit]

These are the major railway station which have large numbers of passenger frequencies and stoppages of trains in the zone.

List of major railway stations in Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways
Sl. No. Name of station Station code Division
1 Guwahati GHY Lumding
2 Dibrugarh DBRG Tinsukia
3 Rangiya Junction RNY Rangiya
4 Kamakhya Junction KYQ Lumding
5 Lumding Junction LMG Lumding
6 Mariani Junction MXN Tinsukia
7 Badarpur Junction BPB Lumding
8 Silchar SCL Lumding
9 Dimapur DMV Lumding
10 New Tinsukia Junction NTSK Tinsukia
11 Rangapara North Junction RPAN Rangiya
12 New Bongaigaon Junction NBQ Rangiya
13 New Alipurduar NOQ Alipurduar
14 New Cooch Behar Junction NCB Alipurduar
15 Alipurduar Junction APDJ Aipurduar
16 New Jalpaiguri Junction NJP Katihar
17 Katihar Junction KIR Katihar
18 Agartala AGTL Lumding
19 Siliguri Junction SGUJ Katihar
20 Jalpaiguri Road railway station JPE Alipurduar
21 Dhupguri railway station DQG Alipurduar

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Dutta, Arup Kumar (2002). Indian Railways, the final frontier: genesis and growth of the North-East Frontier Railway. Guwahati: Northeast Frontier Railway. LCCN 2003308231.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-4

External links[edit]