 | |
| Industry | Railways |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1857 |
| Defunct | 1942 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Bengal andAssam |
| Services | Rail transport |
TheEastern Bengal Railway (full name: "Eastern Bengal Railway Company"; shortenedEBR) was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated from 1857 to 1942, in theBengal andAssam provinces ofBritish India (now part ofBangladesh Railway, andNortheast Frontier Railway andEastern Railway ofIndia).[1]
| Eastern Bengal Railway Act 1857 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for incorporating the Eastern Bengal Railway Company, and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 20 & 21 Vict. c. clix |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 August 1857 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Eastern Bengal Railway Company was incorporated by theEastern Bengal Railway Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. clix) of theParliament of the United Kingdom, with the objective of introduction of railway transport in easternBengal and even to move intoBurma. The operational area of Eastern Bengal Railway was to be the east bank of theHooghly River, whileEast Indian Railway Company operated on the west bank of the river.[2][3]
By the end of 1877 the company owned 43 steam locomotives, 180 coaches and 691 goods wagons.[4] By 1936, the rolling stock had increased to 327 locomotives, 3 steam railcars, 1560 coaches and 13.781 freight wagons.[5]
It was labeled as a Class I railway according to theIndian Railway Classification System of 1926.[6][7]
| Eastern Bengal Railway Company Purchase Act 1884 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to provide for the vesting of the undertaking of the Eastern Bengal Railway Company in the Secretary of State in Council of India and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 47 & 48 Vict. c. cciv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 28 July 1884 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2013 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The EBR was taken over by the Government of India by theEastern Bengal Railway Company Purchase Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. cciv) and renamed the Eastern Bengal State Railway.
The Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway (CSER) was formed in 1859 to connectCalcutta withPort Canning on theMatla River. It constructed and completed the 45 km (28 mi) long line on 15 May 1863.[8][9] The Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway was merged into the Eastern Bengal State Railway in 1887.
In 1915, it reverted to its old name Eastern Bengal Railway. In 1941, theBengal Dooars Railway was merged into Eastern Bengal Railway. In 1942, the Government of India mergedAssam Bengal Railway with Eastern Bengal Railway to createBengal and Assam Railway.[10]
Railways in British India[11]
"As a child of its era, the railway left an indelible mark on the 19th century developments in India. In a country of continental distances, it provided the foundation for modern economic expansion by facilitating the carriage of huge quantities of passengers and freight over very long distances at hitherto unparalleled speeds. During the early part of 20th century, in a growing economy with rapid increase in demand for mobility, railway development was sparked off at a pace similar if not more marked than in Western countries in the 19th century. Development and rapid expansion of railway network in British India served as the backbone for economic growth and industrial development in the post independence era."
After thepartition of India in 1947 the broad-gauge portion of the Bengal and Assam Railway, lying inIndia was added to theEast Indian Railway and the metre-gauge portion became the Assam Railway.[12][13]
On 14 April 1952, the Assam Railway and theOudh and Tirhut Railway were amalgamated to form theNorth Eastern Railway.[14] On the same day, the reorganized Sealdah division of the erstwhile Bengal Assam Railway (which was added to the East Indian Railway earlier) was amalgamated with theEastern Railway.[15]
With the formation of theNortheast Frontier Railway on 15 January 1958, the portions of the erstwhile Eastern Bengal Railway that were in Assam and the Indian portion of North Bengal, came under its jurisdiction.[16]
The portion of the system which fell within the boundary of erstwhile East Pakistan was named as Eastern Bengal Railway. On 1 February 1961, the Eastern Bengal Railway was renamed as the Pakistan Railway and in 1962 it became thePakistan Eastern Railway.[17] With the emergence of Bangladesh, it became theBangladesh Railway.[3][13]
The first line of Eastern Bengal Railway was constructed fromSealdah (Calcutta) toKushtia (now inBangladesh) in 1862 (presently covered bySealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line ofWest Bengal andChilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana line ofBangladesh). It was decided in 1865 to extend the line toGoalundo Ghat (now inBangladesh). The extension opened on 31 December 1870. By 1902, it was extended north to as far asDhubri (now inAssam).[3]
The Eastern Bengal Railway, which operated east of theHooghly River, was linked with theEast Indian Railway, which operated west of the river, whenJubilee Bridge, linkingBandel ofEast Indian Railway andNaihati of Eastern Bengal Railway, was opened in 1887. TheCalcutta Chord Railway constructed the line fromDum Dum of Eastern Bengal Railway toDankuni ofEast Indian Railway over the Willingdon Bridge in 1932. The bridge was later renamedVivekananda Setu.[18]
In many parts of riverine eastern Bengal, with long stretches of low lands, the railways had to be built on embankments which hindered the free flow of water. In a brief case study of Eastern Bengal Railway it has been revealed that the water regime of the Rajshahi Division of present Bangladesh was destabilized by the way the railway exposed itself to theChalan Beel. From the beginning of the twentieth century thebeel (pond or wetland) began to be bounded by theCalcutta–Siliguri main line on the west and by theSantahar–Bogra line on the north. These lines affected the feeding of the beel. Its drainage was affected by theSirajganj branch line in the south-east.[19]
The Indian part of EBR was converted to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge in 1990s to 2010s. The Bangladesh part is under conversion to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.
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