Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line (including Shantipur loop line)
Krishnanagar City Junction railway station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railway
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	Ranaghat Lalgola
Stations	35
Service
System	Electrified
Operator(s)	Eastern Railway
Depot(s)	Ranaghat EMU Carshed
History
Opened	1899; 127 years ago (1899) (Aistala Ghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City NG line) 1905; 121 years ago (1905) (Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Krishnapur BG line)
Technical
Line length	155 km (96 mi) - Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola 36 km (22 mi) - Ranaghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge
Old gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm) - Aistala Ghat–Nabadwip Ghat section
Electrification	Yes
Operating speed	up to 110 km/h (68 mph)
Route map Legend km km Godagari Ghat–Amnura line (abandoned) 178 Godagari Ghat Ganges River Bangladesh India old ferry connection to Godagari Ghat 160 Lalgola Ghat line dismantled 155 Lalgola line dismantled 153 Krishnapur 147 Pirtala 144 Bhagwangola B.B. loop line 137 Subarnamrigi Azimganj Junction 108 132 Jiaganj destroyed bridge overBhagirathi River 129 Nashipur Road Bhagirathi River Nashipur Rail Bridge B.B. loop line 124 Murshidabad Junction 116 Cossimbazar 113 Berhampore Court New Balarampur Halt 108 Sargachhi 104 planned line Bhabta 101 Beldanga 95 Domkal Rejinagar 86 Karimpur Sirajnagar 82 Betai Plassey 77 Tehatta Paglachandi 71 Charatala Paglachandi River Chapra B.B. loop line 66 Debagram Nabadwip Dham 49 58 Sonadanga B.B. loop line 54 Bethuadahari planned bridge overBhagirathi River 44 Muragchha Nabadwip Ghat 49 39 Dhubulia Maheshganj 47 33 Bahadurpur Amghata 44 Jalangi River Krishnanagar Road 39 planned line Kolkata Suburban Railway ends here 26 36 Krishnanagar City Junction Bhatjangla 33 Dignagar 27 Bagdi 23 Shantipur Junction 21 21 Jalal Khali Halt Bathna Krittibas 16 16 Badkulla Phulia 12 11 Taherpur Habibpur 08 8 Birnagar old NG line dismantled 4 Kalinarayanpur Junction Baicha 13 Churni River Raghabpur 08 Ranaghat–Gede line Aistala Ghat 05 3 Churni Ghat old ferry connection to Aistala Ghat 0 Ranaghat Junction Ranaghat–Bangaon line Sealdah–Ranaghat line km km Key Indian Railways broad gauge (1676 mm) narrow gauge (762 mm) metre gauge (1000 mm) in use   out of use, planned, or under construction (u/c)   tunnel

TheRanaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line is a 155 km (96 mi) longbroad gauge railway line which connectsRanaghat Junction in theNadia district withLalgola in theMurshidabad district of theIndianstate ofWest Bengal. The line runs up to the Bangladesh border near theGanga river and is a part of theSealdah railway division of theEastern Railway zone.^[1]

There are threeexpress services, which connectLalgola withKolkata (Hazarduari Express andDhano Dhanye Express) andSealdah (Bhagirathi Express), that traverse the entire length of the line connecting major towns likeKrishnanagar,Beldanga,Berhampore andMurshidabad in between.^[2] These services are further augmented by locomotive hauledpassenger trains that stop at every station on the line.^[3] In 2012, dailyMEMU services were started betweenSealdah andLalgola.^[4]

With the opening of theNashipur Rail Bridge^[5][6], the section was directly connected to theB.B loop line and theHowrah–New Jalpaiguri line allowing a shorter alternative connection betweenKolkata andSiliguri. As such a newHumsafar Express betweenSealdah andJalpaiguri Road was launched on 20 June 2025 along this route.^[7] TheKolkata–Sairang Express, the first train betweenKolkata andAizawl was also launched on 13 September 2025^[8] along this route and quickly became popular within weeks of its launch.^[9]

The Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City section along with the Kalinarayanpur–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City loop line is a part of the suburban section of theKolkata Suburban Railway linking with the system atRanaghat Junction.^[1][10] The Sealdah–Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City section is served with total pairs of 231 Daily and 187 Sunday EMU services.^[10] There are also 3 pairs of EMU services between Ranaghat and Krishnanagar via the Shantipur Loop line. Shantipur is further connected toBangaon via theRanaghat–Bangaon branch line with 2 pairs of daily EMU services.^[10]

A majority of the Sealdah–Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City section is served by 9-car EMU rakes from the Narkeldanga EMU Carshed.^[4] The Ranaghat EMU Carshed, commissioned in 2007, mainly serves the Bangaon–Ranaghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City section and the Ranaghat–Lalgola section, where EMU services were introduced from 2017, with 12-carEMU andMEMU rakes.^[4][10]

While themain line of the eastern section of theEastern Bengal Railway (reporting mark:EBR) was opened fromCalcutta toKushtia viaRanaghat in 1862, it bypassedKrishnanagar andShantipur, two very prominent heritage centers of art, culture and learning of the 18th and 19th centuryBengal.^[11][12] To resolve this issue,Martin's Light Railways (reporting mark:MLR) constructed a 20.25 mi (32.59 km) long,2 ft 6 in narrow gauge line from Aistala Ghat, on the west bank of theChurni river, near Ranaghat to Krishnanagar via Shantipur in 1899 which was known as the Ranaghat–Krishnanagar Light Railway.^[13] EBR further constructed a 1.6 mi (2.6 km) longbroad gauge line from Ranaghat station to Churni Ghat, known as theChurni Extension railway, from where a direct ferry connection to Aistala Ghat was established.^[14] The administration of the Ranaghat–Krishnanagar Light Railway passed onto EBR in 1904.^[13][15]

EBR opened the Ranaghat–Murshidabad–Bhagwangola–Krishnapur branch line in 1905. This was known as the Murshidabad Branch Railway.^[13] This was further extended to Lalgola Ghat on the south bank of theGanges in 1907 and the line came to be known as theLalgola Ghat Branch Railway.^[13][16] In 1909, ametre gauge line from Katihar to Godagari Ghat (on the north bank of theGanges), known as theGodagari Ghat Branch Railway was built, from where a ferry connection was established to Lalgola Ghat, thus providing a direct link fromKatihar toCalcutta.^[17][18]

in 1925. abroad gauge extension was built from Churni Bridge (present dayKalinarayanpur Junction railway station) to Shantipur thus establishing direct connectivity from Sealdah to Shantipur.^[19] This made the Aistala Ghat–Shantipur section and the Churni Extension Railway redundant following which they were dismantled and the line was known asShantipur–Krishnanagar Light Railway.^[12][19]

The Shantipur–Krishnanagar Light Railway was extended up toNabadwip Ghat on the east bank of theBhagirathi river, in 1926 and a direct ferry connection was established toNabadwip Dham, an important pilgrimage centre of Bengal.^[20]

In 1928, a 2.01 mi (3.23 km) long branch line was constructed fromAzimganj on theB.B. loop line to theNashipur Road station on the Ranaghat–Lalgola line via a bridge across theBhagirathi river for carrying stone freight traffic.^[21] This bridge was destroyed in the Second World War, leading to connectivity problems between the twin cities ofAzimganj andJiaganj located on the opposite sides of theBhagirathi river.^[22]

Following thepartition of India in 1947, the link betweenSealdah andKatihar via this line was snapped^[18] affecting the connection ofSouth Bengal withNorth Bengal,North Bihar andAssam due to which the ferry connection was moved to between Sakrigali Ghat railway station in theSahibganj Loop to Manihari Ghat railway station in theKatihar–Teznarayanpur branch line.^[23] TheKatihar–Singhabad section was converted to broad gauge in 1962 with the construction of the newHowrah–New Jalpaiguri line.^[24][25]

The line along with other EBR lines came under the jurisdiction of theSealdah railway division of theEastern Railway post zonal re-organisation in 1952.^[1][26]

The Shantipur–Krishnanagar Citynarrow gauge line was sanctioned for gauge conversion tobroad gauge in 2001.^[27] The line closed for gauge conversion in 2010 which was completed and the new line was commissioned on 7 February 2012.^[28][29][30]

The Krishnanagar–Nabadwip Ghat section was sanctioned for gauge conversion in 2007 along with a planned extension of the line toNabadwip Dham on theB.B. loop line with a bridge over theBhagirathi.^[27] While the gauge conversion of the section was completed from Krishnanagar City to Amghata railway station it was not commissioned because of unauthorized crossings, while the stretch between Amghata and Nabadwip Ghat has been blocked due to a temple and a mosque being on the alignment.^[29] Similarly, while the superstructure of the bridge between the Nabadwip Ghat andNabadwip Dham railway stations over theBhagirathi is ready, tracks leading to the bridge haven't been built because of land acquisition problems and protests by the locals.^[31][32]

On 15 October 2023, a trial run of agoods train was conducted between theKrishnanagar City Junction and Amghata railway stations in order to check the heath of the unutilized section of the new gauge converted line. It was planned to short terminate trains at Amghata till the land acquisition problems between the Amghata–Nabadwip Ghat section are sorted out.^[33][34][35] The Krishnanagar City–Amghata section was finally commissioned for operations on 17 November 2025^[36].

Anew railway bridge between Azimganj and Murshidabad, across the Bhagirathi river was sanctioned in 2001 owing to the long time demand of the people of the area.^[37] While the superstructure of the bridge was completed by 2013, since the approach roads couldn't be built due to land acquisition problems and local protests related to employment, the tracks leading to the bridge couldn't be constructed.^{[37][38][22][39]}

The hurdles related to land acquisition & employment were finally cleared & work for laying the tracks was started in December 2022.^[40][41][42] Track renewal work by replacing the old railway panels was underway as of September 2023 and the entire work was expected to be completed by March 2024.^[43] Meanwhile the area near the bridge had become a popular picnic spot.^[44]

The bridge was finally inaugurated on 2 March 2024 by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi^[5][6] and multiple passenger services were launched via the bridge, finally connecting the twin cities ofJiaganj Azimganj by rail, on October 2024^[45].

Once commissioned, theIndian Railways planned to use the bridge forNorth Bengal bound trains fromSealdah likeDarjeeling Mail as it provided a shorter route betweenSealdah andNew Jalpaiguri leading to significant savings in cost and time.^[46][47] This plan finally came into fruition on 20 June 2025 when a newHumsafar Express betweenSealdah andJalpaiguri Road was launched along this route.^[7] TheKolkata–Sairang Express, the first train betweenKolkata andAizawl was also launched on 13 September 2025^[8] along this route as well and quickly became popular within weeks of its launch.^[9]

The Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola section along with the Ranaghat–Shantipur section is a double line section while the Shantipur–Krishnanagar City section is a single line section.^[1]

The Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City and the Ranaghat–Shantipur section were electrified in 1963–64.^[48] The 128 km (80 mi) long Krishnanagar City–Lalgola stretch was electrified in 2007.^[49] The single electrified line of the Shantipur–Krishnanagar City section was commissioned after gauge conversion in 2012.^[28][29][30]

The Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City section of the line is primarily served by 9-carEMU rakes from the Narkeldanga EMU Carshed with a few 12-car EMU rakes from Ranaghat EMU Carshed as well. Further to this most 12-car EMU rakes from Ranaghat EMU Carshed serve in the Ranaghat–Lalgola section and the Krishnanagar City–Shantipur–Ranaghat–Bangaon section.^[4] The Ranaghat EMU Carshed also maintains 12-carMEMU rakes which started serving from Sealdah to Lalgola in 2012.^[4]

While the section was initially served by the Narkeldanga EMU carshed which opened on 1963, due to the increasing traffic requirements in theRanaghat–Gede,Ranaghat–Bangaon, Ranaghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City and Ranaghat–Lalgola sections owing to the electrification and gauge conversions of various lines, the Ranaghat EMU carshed was commissioned in 2007.^[4] EMU services were introduced between Ranaghat and Lalgola in 2017.^[4]

As of January 2024, the Narkeldanga carshed had 28 9-car EMU rakes, a few of which served theSealdah South section mostly via theCircular line, while rest served theSealdah North section lines. The Ranaghat EMU carshed contains 1 9-car EMU rake, 16 12-car EMU rakes (of which 1 is a 3 phase EMU) and 8 12-car MEMU rakes. 4 of the 12-car MEMU rakes arethree phaseMEMU.^[4]

Names inbold indicate that the station is a major stop or an important interchange/terminal station.

Names initalics indicate that the station is now defunct

There have been multiple demands for a new railway line fromKrishnanagar toBerhampore viaKarimpur andDomkal, two major towns in theNadia andMurshidabad districts ofWest Bengal.^[51][52][53] While multiple surveys have been conducted for the proposed railway line since 1905, it was not sanctioned for construction.^[54] In January 2023, theIndian Ministry of Railways has given an approval to start survey work on the Krishnanagar–Karimpur railway line again, at a cost of Rs.2 crore.^[55] As per the plans, the survey work started in August 2023.^[56]

Two new railway line projects,Dhubulia–Charatala and Krishnanagar City–Chapra have been sanctioned in the railway budget in 2001 and 2002 respectively.^[27] While the final line survey for both the newly planned lines have been completed, there has been no further progress made in the project.^[53][54]

• 
  Plassey railway station
• 
  Berhampore Court railway station
• 
  Rail Bridge overJalangi river at Krishnanagar

External videos
Shantipur-Krishnanagar-Nabadwip Ghat Toy Train – Now closed

• Transport in Murshidabad
• 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India
• Sealdah railway division

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