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Kolkata & Bengal Railway Network - News and Updates.

994K views 3K replies 169 participants last post by  Sam Earth 
#1 ·
#3,067 ·


Survey tenders out for following routes under NFR:

1. Sanjaygram - Dhachna (in Bihar) 12.25 km rail link which shall enable faster direct train services between Raiganj/Radhikapur and Siliguri/NJP, bypassing the busy Barsoi Jn.

2. Bagdogra - Gulma 18.42 km rail link, bypassing Siliguri Jn.

3. Ambaari Falakata - Siliguri Jn. 15.85 km direct rail link, bypassing NJP

4. Quadrupling Aluabari Road - NJP 53 km line (currently double line), making it the 5th Quadrupled railway section in Bengal (after HWH/Dankuni - Burdwan - Sitarampur, Sealdah - Naihati, short stretch between Ballygunge - Majherhat, and HWH - Santragachhi - Kharagpur).
 
#3,071 ·
After a long hiatus, some movement on Balurghat - Hili railway project.

 
#3,072 ·
Work on Nashipur- Azimganj section begins. Sealdah - Siliguri route distance to get reduced by over 21 kms. Electrification would be taken up from March.

 
#3,078 ·
Only HBC section is capable of 160 kph. Beyond Khana Jn. MPS is 110 only. Tracks in entire NFR section not capable of 110 on most stretches, let alone 130. Not sure if there would be substantial time savings.

Once Sainthia to Pakur tripling is completed (already completed till Murarai) time taken may reduce further.

Alternatively, if ran from Sealdah via Ranaghat, Azimganj post completion of Nasipur bridge it may take lesser time due to shorter distance,but NFR bottleneck will remain.

Higher average speed and time savings may reflect in Howrah-Patna, Howrah-Ranchi routes as majority of the stretch belongs to 160 upgraded tracks.
 
#3,079 · (Edited)
Only HBC section is capable of 160 kph. Beyond Khana Jn. MPS is 110 only. Tracks in entire NFR section not capable of 110 on most stretches, let alone 130. Not sure if there would be substantial time savings.
Even with 110kmph MPS, Chennai - Bengaluru - Mysore VB runs at 77kmph avg speed, taking 30-50 minutes lesser than its Shatabdi counterpart. Bangalore - Mysore section has a MPS of about 100kmph. Tonnes of curves and bends on this entire route.

At least Bengal has a stretch at HBC that is fit for 150-160kmph operations (no train has ever reached such speeds yet through, even in trial runs). And regarding the northern stretch, there were lots of news updates/notifications from NFR about tracks being upgraded/to be upgraded between NJP and Barsoi to 130kmph, and Malda and Katihar divisions too had started works on upgrading the tracks around Malda (there was even a proposal to run a Rajdhani via Malda).

My point is why all the Dhaak Dhol Petano by the Railway Board/Divisions when zero implementation on ground, and when they are not able to benefit the passengers/commuters by reducing time for travel, despite such huge investments being poured into technologies and infrastructure like Vande Bharat trains and 'Kavach' and electrifications and triple/quadruple lines and track upgradatations? Trains did 130kmph on HBC (upto Asansol) even back in the 80s/90s, what ground-breaking difference has the Railways (ER in particular) achieved in all these decades in this part of the country?

Look at the Ranchi Shatabdi with its incredibly pathetic timings that has kept regular commuters at bay (despite decent rush in luxury buses on Kolkata - Ranchi route). Or have you seen the pathetic condition of the two Rajdhanis from Kolkata these days? Why this bhedbhaav when people here are paying the same fares as the rest of the country?
 
#3,080 · (Edited)
My personal experience is, Shatabdi or any other trains get ridiculously slow post Rampurhat until Barharwa. The speed gets as low as 40. Then comes Farakka barrage where speed will be in low 30s. HBC is not a problem, as most of the lost time is covered up here.

Regarding Rajdhanis, well, their services have deteriorated no doubt, add some fog/smog delays into the mix and with KNI airport in Asansol-Durgapur region there's hardly any end to end passenger till NDLS. People travelling in Rajdhanis can afford air travel and has shifted already. End result - add more and more stops for better patronage in the intermediate stations further slowing it down.

And the problem is not limited to Rajdhanis. Take HWH-CSMT stretch for example. Mumbai/Pune Durontos, Prestigious trains like Geetanjali, Azad Hind etc. on average 5 hours delay around Bilaspur (SECR) is routine nowadays despite tripling the tracks and speed upgrades. Here the excuse is priority to freight traffic. I don't think long distance premium trains have a future.
 
#3,081 ·
...Take HWH-CSMT stretch for example. Mumbai/Pune Durontos, Prestigious trains like Geetanjali, Azad Hind etc. on average 5 hours delay around Bilaspur (SECR) is routine nowadays despite tripling the tracks and speed upgrades. Here the excuse is priority to freight traffic...
Couldn't agree more... Ironically they've introduced a Vande Bharat on this very stretch where trains get delayed the most on this route. 😂
 
#3,090 ·
Ranaghat - Bongaon Local Train

"New Train From Ranaghat Jn to Bongaon Jn for the Local Passengers! Train Number : 33742/43 which will Run Between Ranaghat and Bongaon Jn. One train will Depart Ranaghat Jn at 22.10pm and arrive at Bongaon Jn at 22.53pm. Another Local will Depart Bongaon Jn at 22.05pm and arrive at Ranaghat Jn at 22.48pm. This Local Service is Starting from 10/01/23"

 
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