TheHowrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line (also known as Mumbai–Kolkata line) is a railway line in India connectingKolkata andMumbai viaNagpur. The 1,968-kilometre-long (1,223 mi) railway line was opened to traffic in 1900.

Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line
Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line map
Overview
Status	Functioning
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Indian states ofWest Bengal,Jharkhand,Odisha,Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra
Termini	Howrah Mumbai CST
Service
Services	Fast
Operator(s)	South Eastern Railway,South East Central Railway,Central Railway
History
Opened	1890; 135 years ago (1890)
Technical
Line length	1,968 km (1,223 mi)
Number of tracks	2/3/4
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge
Electrification	Yes
Operating speed	up to 130 km/h
Route map Minor stations omitted Legend km 0 Howrah 116 Kharagpur Howrah–Chennai main line toAdra Tatanagar–Kharagpur line West Bengal Jharkhand border 250 Tatanagar Asansol–Tatanagar line Tatanagar–Bilaspur section 312 Chakradharpur Jharkhand Odisha border 413 Rourkela 515 Jharsuguda Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line 528 Brajarajnagar Odisha Chhattisgarh border 588 Raigarh 637 Sakti toKorba 667 Champa 720 Bilaspur toKatni Junction Bilaspur–Nagpur section 767 Bhatapara Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line 830 Raipur 867 Durg 897 Rajnandgaon 928 Dongargarh Chhattisgarh Maharashtra border toBalaghat 1,001 Gondia Bilaspur–Nagpur section 1,051 Tumsar Road 1,069 Bhandara Road toChhindwara 1,131 Nagpur toItarsi 1,207 Sevagram Nagpur–Hyderabad line 1,210 Wardha 1,239 Pulgaon 1,259 Dhamangaon 1,305 Badnera 1,346 Murtajapur toSecunderabad 1,384 Akola Junction toKhandwa 1,421 Shegaon 1,434 Jalamb 1,446 Nandura 1,474 Malkapur Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line 1,524 Bhusawal 1,548 Jalgaon 1,641 Chalisgaon 1,708 Manmad 1,781 Nasik 1,787 Devlali 1,832 Igatpuri 1,915 Kalyan Central line Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Kurla 1,959 Dadar Central 1,968 Mumbai CST km Source: Indian Railway Time Table andMake my trip

The 1,968-kilometre-long (1,223 mi) trunk line has been treated in more detail in smaller sections:

1. Howrah–Kharagpur section
2. Kharagpur–Tatanagar section
3. Tatanagar–Bilaspur section
4. Bilaspur–Nagpur section
5. Nagpur–Bhusawal section
6. Bhusawal–Kalyan section
7. Kalyan–Mumbai CST section

The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line cuts across the central parts of India in an east–west direction and traverses the plains of lower West Bengal, the southern part ofChota Nagpur Plateau, theDeccan Plateau, theWestern Ghats and finally theWestern Coastal Plains.^[1][2][3]

The first train in India travelled fromBori Bunder inBombay toTannah (current Thane) on 16 April 1853. By May 1854,Great Indian Peninsula Railway's Bombay–Tannah line was extended toCallian (current Kalyan).Bhusawal station was set up in 1860 and in 1867 the GIPR branch line was extended toNagpur.^[4]

While the entire Mumbai–Nagpur line was5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge, the next part from Nagpur to Rajnandgaon wasmetre gauge. TheNagpur Chhattisgarh Railway started construction of the 240 km (149 mi) Nagpur–Rajnandgaon section in 1878, after surveys were started in 1871. The Nagpur–Tumsar Road section was opened in April 1880 and the Tumsar Road–Rajnandgaon section in December 1880.^[5]

The GIPR andEIR, working jointly, completed theHowrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line thereby establishing a connection betweenKolkata andMumbai in 1870.^[6] Thegreat famine of 1878 was an impetus for the fast completion of the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway track, but by then the idea of a route from Mumbai to Kolkata, shorter than the one via Allahabad, had set in.^[7]

TheBengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1871. Amongst its major objectives were taking over of the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and its conversion to broad gauge and extension of its system by a 772 km (480 mi) line to Asansol on EIR's main line. The entire task was completed by 1891 and Nagpur was connected to Asansol.^[5] However, the line via Asansol was never seriously used as a link to Howrah for passenger traffic.

The Sini–Kharagpur–Kolaghat line was opened in 1898–99. The Kolaghat–Howrah section was completed in 1899–1900. The entire line was opened with the completion of the bridge across theRupnarayan River, near Kolaghat, on 19 April 1900.^[8]

The entire line iselectrified.^[9]

The entire Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is planned to be upgraded as a "Group A" line which will enable it to take speeds up to 160 kmph. Its current speed is restricted at 130kmph. Rest are under 110 kmph.^[10]

Howrah (Kolkata),Kharagpur,Tatanagar,Rourkela,Bilaspur,Raipur,Durg,Nagpur,Badnera,Akola,Bhusawal,Nashik Road,Manmad andKalyan (Mumbai subarban) on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian railway.^[11]

The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is a part of theGolden Quadrilateral. The routes connecting the four major metropolises (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata), along with their diagonals, known as the Golden Quadrilateral, carry about half the freight and nearly half the passenger traffic, although they form only 16 per cent of the length.^[12]