Himalayan Times (1962)

ix

Himalayan Times

April 13, 1962

neck in transport and
making the lower and
upper Assam a homogenous
whole, to usher in a new
era of industrial progress
in this part of the
country.

The need for extend-
ing the railway network
in the area served by
this Railway has led to
the construction of a
number of new lines. A
new M; G. line of 16.53
miles from Kumedpur to
Mukuria, near Barsoi, and
a 20-mile Broad Gauge
line from Khejuria Ghat
to Malda Town (with
wagon ferry between
Kherjuria Ghat and Farak-
ka) as the first phase of
extension of the B. G.
line upto Siliguri, have
already been opened.

Conversion of the
Katihar-Singhabad and
Kumedpur-Mukuria sec-
tions from Metre to Broad
Gauge with a link to
Malda Town has also been
completed. The Broad
Gauge line from Barsoi
to New Siliguri has also
been simultaneously com-
pleted.

With the opening of
the Broad Gauge route,
a radioal change will take
place in the transport
layout of this railway.
The bulk of traffic ori-
ginating from Calcutta
and neighbouring Broad
Gauge station, whioh pas-
ses through Siliguri junc-
tion, for north Bengal and

Assam, now carried over
the Katihar Siliguri sec-
tion, will mostly be di-
verted along the new
direct route from Calcutta
Via Farakka/Khejuria
Ghat, relieving congestion
over that much strained
Metre Gauge route.

Construction of a new
107-mile Metre Gauge line
from Rangapara to North
Lakhimpur has been un-
dertaken. The line is
likely to be opened to
goods traffic shortly. An
expansion of another 100
miles of this line to Mur-
kong SeUk, near Siang
Frontier Division, invol-
ving the building of a
13-epan ( eaoh 200 ft. )
bridge over the Subansiri
river, has also been sanc-
tioned.

Construction of a new
20-miles Metre Gauge line
to Tipperah from Kal-
kaligliat to Dharamnagar
to link Tripura with
Assam, has been taken
in hand and is scheduled
to be ready for goods
traffic by early next year.
The line, in course of
time, may be extended
to Agartala, another 120
miles away from Dharam-
nagar.

Ground works for the
introduction of Centralised
Traffic Control—first of
its kind on the Indian
Railways—over the 252-
mile single line section
between Siliguri Junction
and Cbangsari, at a cost

of about Rs. 7 orores,
have been undertaken.
This work, when com-
pleted, will provide capa-
city for about 100 per
cent more train services
on this section. The C.T.C.
should be in operation in
about two year's time.

To further expand the
capacity for movement of
goods, it has been decided
to dieselise the through
goods trains between Ka-
tihar to Amingaon on the
Main Line. For this pur-
pose, two diesel locomo-
tive sheds are under cons-
truction at Siliguri Junc-
tion and Narangi. A
diesel engine of the type
we are obtaining is expeo-
ted to haul a train of
1150 tons on a gradient
of 1 in 150 over the seo-
tion Siliguri Junction—
Alipurduar Junction as
against 850 tons by the
heaviest steam engine. The
movement capacity wilt
then increase by 35 per
oent.

In view of the anti-
cipated development of
industries in the Cachar
district, the Lumding-
Badarpur Hill Section is
proposed to be dieselised
in the Third Plan period
to increase the movement
capacity by 100 per oent.
Introduction of diesel ser-
vice on the Rangiya-Ran-
gapara North—North
Lakhimpur section is also
contemplated.