Candy332540216 at 13:13, 28 February 2025

2025-02-28T13:13:04Z

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{{Short description|Railway company in British India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Eastern Bengal Railway
|logo = Eastern Bengal Railway Logo.jpg
|type =
|foundation =1857
|location_city = [[Calcutta]]
|location_country = [[British Raj|British India]]
|location =
|key_people =
|area_served = [[Bengal]] and [[Assam]]
|industry = [[Railways]]
|products =
|services = [[Rail transport]]
|revenue =
|operating_income =
|net_income =
|num_employees =
|parent =
|divisions =
|subsid =
|slogan =
|homepage =
|dissolved = 1942
|footnotes =
|intl =
}}
The '''Eastern Bengal Railway''' (full name: "Eastern Bengal Railway Company"; shortened '''EBR''') was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated from 1857 to 1942, in the [[Bengal]] and [[Assam]] provinces of [[British Raj|British India]] (now part of [[Bangladesh Railway]], and [[Northeast Frontier Railway]] and [[Eastern Railway (India)|Eastern Railway]] of [[India]]).<ref name="History AP">{{cite web|url=http://archives.anandabazar.com/e_kolkata/2013/december/anache_kanache.html|title=ইস্টার্ন রেলওয়ে ফুটবল ক্লাব — ১৪১ বছরের পুরনো একটি ক্লাবের ইতিহাস ও ঐতিহ্য|trans-title=Eastern Railway Football Club — History and heritage of a 141-year-old club|website=archives.anandabazar.com|publisher=[[Anandabazar Patrika]]|language=Bengali|date=21 December 2013|access-date=24 March 2023|location=Kolkata|first=Rajat|last=Karmakar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127103722/http://archives.anandabazar.com/e_kolkata/2013/december/anache_kanache.html|archive-date=27 January 2022}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Formation {{anchor|Eastern Bengal Railway Act 1857}} ===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Eastern Bengal Railway Act 1857
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for incorporating the Eastern Bengal Railway Company, and for other purposes.
| year = 1857
| citation = [[20 & 21 Vict.]] c. clix
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 25 August 1857
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status =
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/20-21/159/pdfs/ukla_18570159_en.pdf
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title =
| collapsed = yes
}}
The Eastern Bengal Railway Company was incorporated by the [[Eastern Bengal Railway Act 1857]] ([[20 & 21 Vict.]] c. clix) of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], with the objective of introduction of railway transport in eastern [[Bengal]] and even to move into [[Burma]]. The operational area of Eastern Bengal Railway was to be the east bank of the [[Hooghly River]], while [[East Indian Railway Company]] operated on the west bank of the river.<ref name=irfca>{{cite web | url = http://www.irfca.org/docs/history/ir-uklaw-ebr.html | title = Eastern Bengal Railway | publisher = [[IRFCA]] | access-date = 2012-02-10 | archive-date = 28 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028181132/http://irfca.org/docs/history/ir-uklaw-ebr.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=banglapedia>{{cite book |last=Mukherjee |first=Hena |year=2012 |chapter=Eastern Bengal Railway |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Eastern_Bengal_Railway |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=7 December 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205636/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Eastern_Bengal_Railway |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Rolling stock ===
By the end of 1877 the company owned 43 steam locomotives, 180 coaches and 691 goods wagons.<ref>{{cite book |title= Archiv für Post und Telegraphie, Band 7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gvs-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA62 |year= 1879 |publisher= Reichsdruckerei, Berlin |language= de |pages= 62–63 |isbn= |access-date= 4 October 2022 |archive-date= 24 June 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220624122429/https://books.google.com/books?id=gvs-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA62 |url-status= live }}</ref> By 1936, the rolling stock had increased to 327 locomotives, 3 steam railcars, 1560 coaches and 13.781 freight wagons.<ref>{{cite book |title=World Survey of Foreign Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA16-PA8 |year=1936 |publisher=Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. |language=English |page=213 |access-date=4 October 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004065832/https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA16-PA8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Classification ===
It was labeled as a Class I railway according to the [[Indian Railway Classification]] System of 1926.<ref>{{cite web| title= Indian Railway Classification | url=https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Indian_Railway_Classification | access-date=10 November 2022| language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=World Survey of Foreign Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA16-PA5 |year=1936 |publisher=Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.|language=English |pages=210–219}}</ref>

=== Subsequent developments ===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Eastern Bengal Railway Company Purchase Act 1884
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| 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.
| year = 1884
| citation = [[47 & 48 Vict.]] c. cciv
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 28 July 1884
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2013]]
| related_legislation =
| status = repealed
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/47-48/204/pdfs/ukla_18840204_en.pdf
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title =
| collapsed = yes
}}
The EBR was taken over by the Government of India by the '''{{visible anchor|Eastern 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 connect [[Calcutta]] with {{stnlnk|Canning|India|Port Canning}} on the [[Matla River]]. It constructed and completed the {{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}} long line on 15 May 1863.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=History Of Indian Railways, constructed and in progress', 31 March 1937 by 'The Government of India - Railway Department'|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.36650|access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Administration Report on Railways 1918|url=https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n55mode/1up|access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref> 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, the [[Bengal Dooars Railway]] was merged into Eastern Bengal Railway. In 1942, the Government of India merged [[Assam Bengal Railway]] with Eastern Bengal Railway to create [[Bengal Assam Railway|Bengal and Assam Railway]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=Eastern_Bengal_Railway | title = Eastern Bengal Railway | publisher = fibis | access-date = 2012-02-10 | archive-date = 28 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130728111550/http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=Eastern_Bengal_Railway | url-status = live }}</ref>

{{quote box|width=300px|quote='''Railways in British India'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anglo-india-central.co.uk/template4/2011/02/07/the-story-of-bengal-nagpur-railway-bnr-now-south-eastern-railway/ |title=The story of Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) now South Eastern Railway |publisher=Anglo-India-Central |access-date=2012-02-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025142416/http://www.anglo-india-central.co.uk/template4/2011/02/07/the-story-of-bengal-nagpur-railway-bnr-now-south-eastern-railway/ |archive-date=25 October 2011 }}</ref><br/> "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." }}

=== Successors ===
After the [[partition of India]] in 1947 the broad-gauge portion of the Bengal and Assam Railway, lying in [[India]] was added to the [[East Indian Railway]] and the metre-gauge portion became the Assam Railway.<ref>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.39</ref><ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/engir/History1.htm |title=History |publisher=Northeast Frontier Railway |access-date=2012-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502032906/http://www.nfr.railnet.gov.in/engir/History1.htm |archive-date=2 May 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>

On 14 April 1952, the Assam Railway and the [[Oudh and Tirhut Railway]] were amalgamated to form the [[North Eastern Railway zone|North Eastern Railway]].<ref>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.42-3</ref> 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 the [[Eastern Railway (India)|Eastern Railway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.easternrailwaysealdah.gov.in/WebForm/FrameContent/Engineering.html |title=Engineering |publisher=Sealdah Division |access-date=2012-02-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215161611/http://www.easternrailwaysealdah.gov.in/WebForm/FrameContent/Engineering.html |archive-date=15 February 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

With the formation of the [[Northeast 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.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,444 | title = History | publisher = North East Frontier Railway | access-date = 2012-02-10 | archive-date = 3 January 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160103114849/http://www.nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,444 | url-status = live }}</ref>

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 the [[Pakistan Eastern Railway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railway.gov.bd/history.asp |title=History |publisher=Bangladesh |access-date=2012-02-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115201005/http://www.railway.gov.bd/history.asp |archive-date=15 November 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> With the emergence of Bangladesh, it became the [[Bangladesh Railway]].<ref name=banglapedia /><ref name="History"/>

== Lines ==
[[File:A switchback station loop on the East Bengal Railway.jpg|thumb|right|A switchback station loop on the East Bengal Railway, 1895. Photo by [[William Henry Jackson]].]]
The first line of Eastern Bengal Railway was constructed from [[Sealdah]] ([[Calcutta]]) to [[Kushtia Sadar Upazila|Kushtia]] (now in [[Bangladesh]]) in 1862 (presently covered by [[Sealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line]] of [[West Bengal]] and [[Chilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana line]] of [[Bangladesh]]). It was decided in 1865 to extend the line to [[Goalundo Ghat]] (now in [[Bangladesh]]). The extension opened on 31 December 1870. By 1902, it was extended north to as far as [[Dhubri]] (now in [[Assam]]).<ref name=banglapedia/>

The Eastern Bengal Railway, which operated east of the [[Hooghly River]], was linked with the [[East Indian Railway Company|East Indian Railway]], which operated west of the river, when [[Jubilee Bridge (India)|Jubilee Bridge]], linking [[Bandel]] of [[East Indian Railway Company|East Indian Railway]] and [[Naihati]] of Eastern Bengal Railway, was opened in 1887. The [[Calcutta]] Chord Railway constructed the line from [[Dum Dum]] of Eastern Bengal Railway to [[Dankuni]] of [[East Indian Railway Company|East Indian Railway]] over the Willingdon Bridge in 1932. The bridge was later renamed [[Vivekananda Setu]].<ref name=timeline>{{cite web |url=http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm |title=Indian Railway History timeline |author=R. P. Saxena |publisher=[[IRFCA]] |access-date=2012-02-10 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714085533/http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm |archive-date=14 July 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

== Hindrance to free flow of water ==
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 the [[Chalan Beel]]. From the beginning of the twentieth century the [[Beel|beel (pond or wetland)]] began to be bounded by the [[Calcutta–Siliguri main line]] on the west and by the [[Santahar–Bogra line]] on the north. These lines affected the feeding of the beel. Its drainage was affected by the [[Iswardi–Sirajganj line|Sirajganj branch line]] in the south-east.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sasnet.lu.se/EASASpapers/13IftekharIqbal.pdf | title = Railways and the water regime of the Eastern Bengal Delta, c. 1905-1943: a reappraisal | last = Khondker Iftekhar Iqbal | access-date = 2012-02-10 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050254/http://www.sasnet.lu.se/EASASpapers/13IftekharIqbal.pdf | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

== Conversion to broad gauge ==
The Indian part of EBR was converted to {{track gauge|1676mm|lk=on}} broad gauge in 1990s to 2010s. The Bangladesh part is under conversion to {{track gauge|1676mm|lk=on}} broad gauge.

== See also ==
* [[Eastern Railway FC]]
* [[Indian Railway]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Class I railways according to Indian Railway Classification System}}
{{Railways in Bangladesh}}
{{Railway lines in Eastern India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Defunct railway companies of India]]
[[Category:Defunct railway companies of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Assam]]
[[Category:History of rail transport in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Indian companies established in 1857]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1857]]

Eastern Bengal Railway - Revision history

Candy332540216 at 13:13, 28 February 2025