New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line (including New Cooch Behar–Golakganj branch line)
New Alipurduar Junction an important railway station on New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	New Jalpaiguri Samuktala Road
Stations	24
Service
Operator(s)	Northeast Frontier Railway
History
Opened	1950
Technical
Line length	182 km (113 mi)
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Yes
Route map Legend km km New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section 238 105 Fakiragram New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section Fakiragram–Golakganj branch line to Dhubri & Abhayapuri 58 Golakganj Gadadhar River closed MG section to Bamanhat New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section 43 Agomoni Samuktala Road 174 213 36 Bidyar Dabri Assam West Bengal border New Alipurduar 203 30 Boxirhat Kaljani River 23 Tufanganj New Baneswar 192 12 Maradanga Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line 184 0 New Cooch Behar New Mal–Changrabandha– New Cooch Behar line Baneswar 176 New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Kaljani River 166 Alipurduar Salsala Bari 169 164 Alipurduar Court Alipurduar College 164 161 Alipurduar Junction 157 Damanpur 150 Rajabhatkhawa Buxa Road 156 closed MG section Jayanti 166 planned Rajabhatkhawa–Jayanti new BG line 144 Garopara 138 Kalchini 135 Hamiltonganj 126 Hasimara Air Force Base Torsa River Dalsingpara 120 closed MG section 116 Madarihat 107 Mujnai 101 Dalgaon 92 Binnaguri 85 Banarhat Jaldhaka River 77 Chengmari 74 Carron, West Bengal 69 Nagrakata 62 Chapramari Naxal 71 planned Chalsa-Naxal new BG line Metelli 64 closed Chalsa-Metelli MG section Gangtok 122 55 Chalsa Singtam 90 Neora River planned/approved ↑ under construction ↓ 48 New Mal Junction Rangpo 68 New Mal–Changrabandha– New Cooch Behar line Sikkim West Bengal border 42 Damdim Melli 51 37 Odlabari Tista Bazaar 46 Ghish River Teesta River 33 Bagrakote Gielkhola 44 Leesh River Rilli 40 26 Pillamshat Riyang 37 Teesta River Kalijhora 27 21 Sivok Salugara 13 18 Gulma Khola Mahananda River Siliguri-Gielkhola closed NG section 16 Gulma Panchnai Junction 13 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway narrow-gauge line Siliguri-Kishanganj closed NG section 11 Pashwashraya Panchai River 7 Siliguri Junction Matigara 11 4 Siliguri Town Balason River New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section 0 New Jalpaiguri R.R. Halt 14 7 Rangapani Bagdogra 17 Katihar–New Jalpaiguri line Katihar–Siliguri line 0 Sources: Google Maps Indian Railway – East Zone Time Table 55425 Alipurduar–Bamanhat Passenger 55426 Bamanhat–Alipuduar Passenger

TheNew Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line is a railway line that connectsNew Jalpaiguri-Siliguri Junction withAlipurduar andSamuktala Road in the Indian state ofWest Bengal. This railway line passes through the beautifulDoars region, which includesMahananda Wildlife Sanctuary,Dooars-Terai tea gardens,Sevoke Railway Bridge,River Teesta,River Jaldhaka,River Torsha,Gorumara National Park,Buxa Tiger Reserve,Jaldapara National Park,Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary,Chilapata Forests,Tunnels,Hills,Valleys etc.

Cooch Behar State Railway built the line betweenGeetaldaha, which connected toLalmonirhat, and Jainti during 1893–1901.^[1] TheEastern Bengal Railway constructed the Hasimara–Alipurduar section during the period 1900–1910. TheBengal Dooars Railway also constructed certain lines in the area. Their longest line was fromLalmonirhat to the western Dooars. Those were metre-gauge railways. The Eastern Bengal Railway and theAssam Bengal Railway were merged during World War II and came to be known as theBengal Assam Railway. With thepartition of India in 1947, the Indian part of Bengal Assam Railway became Assam Railway, which subsequently became part of North Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway.^[2][3][4] The metre-gauge track was converted to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.^[5][6] The 182 kilometres (113 mi) long New Jalpaiguri/ Siliguri–Samuktala Road line was constructed as part of the Assam Rail Link project in 1948–50. After conversion to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in), it was re-opened on 20 November 2003.^[4][7]

TheDooars or the Himalayan foothills cover a stretch of about 140 km in the northern part ofJalpaiguri district between theTeesta andSankosh rivers with fields, forests and tea gardens in the backdrop of low hills. Numerous mountain streams criss-cross the region. The Dooars are particularly notable for its forests and wild life sanctuaries –Gorumara National Park,Jaldapara National Park,Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary,Chilapata Forests, andBuxa Tiger Reserve. The New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line runs through the area.^[8] It also runs through another sanctuary outside the Dooars –Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

The line running through deep forests has taken a toll on elephant herds. A large number of elephants have been killed by speeding trains. Following protests by the local population, restrictions have been placed on the speed of trains, particularly at night.^[5][9]

The construction of a new 44.4-kilometre (27.6 mi) longSevoke-Rangpo Railway Line fromSivok railway station inSevoke on the New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line in West Bengal toRangpo railway station inRangpo,Sikkim commenced in 2010.^[10][11] The railway line up to Rangpo is expected to be completed in December 2023.^[12] In the second phase the line will be extended up toGangtok, the capital ofSikkim.^[13]

The broad gauge branch line i.eNew Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line from Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district toChangrabandha in Cooch Behar district exists with connecting line to New Cooch Behar. Old metre gauge extension of this line on the Bangladesh side fromBurimari to Lalmonirhat is still functional.^[14][15]

The Alipuduar–Bamanhat branch line ends near the India–Bangladesh border across theDharla River. In pre-independence days, it used to connect toMogalhat, now in Bangladesh, across the Dharla. The bridge is broken. The line fromGolokganj meets the branch line. Before the Dharla bridge was broken the rail link fromParbatipur toFakiragram used to pass throughGeetaldaha, now a border village in Cooch Behar district, andBamanhat.^[15][16] The Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line was converted to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) in 2007.^[17] Dhubri-New Jalpaiguri Inter-city Express via Cooch Behar was introduced in February 2012.^[18]

Rajabhatkawa-Jainti line is a new project sanctioned in 2012–13.^[19]

Important railway stations in this line are as follows:

• New Jalpaiguri Junction
• Siliguri Town
• Siliguri Junction
• Gulma
• Sivok Junction
• Bagrakote
• Odlabari
• Damdim
• New Malbazar Junction
• Chalsa
• Chapramari
• Nagrakata
• Carron, West Bengal
• Banarhat
• Binnaguri Junction
• Dalgaon
• Mujnai
• Madarihat
• Hasimara
• Hamiltonganj
• Kalchini
• Rajabhatkhawa
• Alipurduar Junction
• Salsalabari
• Samuktala Road Junction

External videos
Video shots of the Dooars from a train

• Trains at Hasimara

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• 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India
• Transport in Jalpaiguri
• Transport in Alipurduar
• Alipurduar railway division
• Transport in Siliguri

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