Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line

Railway line in India

Haldibari
New Jalpaiguri

Stations11ServiceOperator(s)Northeast Frontier RailwayHistoryOpened1878TechnicalLine length58 kilometres (36 mi)Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gaugeOperating speed110 km/h (68 mph)

Route map

Legend

Katihar–New Jalpaiguri line

New Jalpaiguri

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

narrow gauge line

New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–

Samuktala Road line

Ambari Falakata

Belakoba

Raninagar Jalpaiguri

New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section

Mohitnagar

Jalpaiguri

Kadabari Halt

Mandalghat

Nandanpur Kerarpara Halt

Kashiabari Halt

Haldibari

India

Bangladesh

border

Chilahati

Chilahati–Parbatipur–

Santahar–Darshana line

The Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line connecting Haldibari in Cooch Behar district and New Jalpaiguri in Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal, was since 1878 a part of the Kolkata–Siliguri broad-gauge route. With the partition of India in 1947, while the main part of the route lay in East Pakistan, later Bangladesh, the two ends of the route lying in India were detached. (For more details see Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line). However, the route continued to be operational till the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Thereafter, the route had been closed till its reopening in 2020. The rest of the line had been in use in the respective countries.

Gauge changes

The Siliguri–Haldibari line has gone through two successive gauge changes. The line was initially built in 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge by the Eastern Bengal Railway. After partition of India since most of the other railway tracks in the area were metre gauge, the line was converted from 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge to metre gauge in 1949. Then in the 1960s, when broad gauge was introduced in the area, the line was converted back to broad gauge and connected to the new station at New Jalpaiguri.^[1]

Haldibari–Chilahati section

There were regular services running through the Haldibari-Chilahati section until the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 following which the services were abandoned. Following the independence of Bangladesh there were plans to re-open the section. Bangladesh Railway had to construct 7.5 kilometres of new rail tracks from Chilahati to reach the border while the Indian authorities had to set up 4.5 kilometres of tracks from its border to Haldibari railway station.^[2]

In the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh, on 7 September 2011, it was stated: " Bangladesh Prime Minister expressed her appreciation to the Indian Prime Minister for amendment of the MoU between the Bangladesh and Indian Railways allowing Rohanpur-Singabad as an additional route for both bulk and container cargo for Nepalese rail transit traffic. Bangladesh side also appreciated the assistance from India for the movement of fertilizers from Bangladesh to Nepal by rail route. They also agreed to re-establish rail connections between Chilahati–Haldibari and Kulaura–Mahishashan in the spirit of encouraging revival of old linkages and transport routes between the two countries."^[3]

The Haldibari-Chilhati section was reopened on 17 December 2020. The railway link was inaugurated by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, in a virtual bilateral summit.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Electrification

The New Jalpaiguri–Raninagar Jalpaiguri section was completely electrified in 2021 as a part of the Katihar-Guwahati route electrification.^[7] The Raninagar Jalpaiguri-Haldibari section's electrification was completed in 10 January 2024.^[8]

References

^ "India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri". IRFCA. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^ "New rail transit route thru India gets govt nod". Priyo Internet Life. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^ "Joint Statement on the occasion of the visit of the PM of India to Bangladesh, 7 September 2011". Item No. 40. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
^ "Number of rail links between India-Bangladesh rises to five: Haldibari-Chilahati railway line inaugurated". Financial Express. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
^ "Chilahati-Haldibari rail route opens after 55 years". The Telegraph, 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ "Haldibari-Chilahati Rail Link: India, Bangladesh Reopen Cross-border route after 55years". NDTV Profit, 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ "Indian Railways completes electrification of track upto Guwahati in north-east India". 12 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
^ "NFR: Electrification works in full swing". 10 March 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2021.

External links

All trains from New Jalpaiguri to Haldibari [1]
All trains from Haldibari to New Jalpaiguri [2]

Railways in Eastern India

National network/
trunk lines

Other lines/sections

Interstate	Asansol–Gaya section Asansol–Patna section Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Barkakana–Son Nagar line Barsoi–New Farakka section Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line Dumka–Bhagalpur line Gaya–Mughalsarai section Hatia–Rourkela line Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line Katihar–Siliguri line Kharagpur–Puri line Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section Kothavalasa–Kirandul line New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Tatanagar–Bilaspur section
Bihar	Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line Barauni–Katihar section Barauni–Samastipur section Fatuha–Tilaiya line Gaya–Kiul line Mokama–Barauni section Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi) Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur main line Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section Muzaffarpur–Hajipur section Narkatiaganj–Bhikhna Thori branch line Neora–Jatdumari–Daniyawan–Bihar Sharif–Sheikhpura line Patna–Gaya line Patna–Mughalsarai section Patna–Sonepur–Hajipur section Raxaul–Sagauli line Samastipur–Muzaffarpur section
Jharkhand	Barkakana–Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh line Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line Dhanbad–Chandrapura line Railways in Jharia Coalfield Koderma–Hazaribagh–Barkakana–Ranchi line Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh–Hatia line
Odisha	Khurda Road–Bolangir line Cuttack–Sambalpur line
West Bengal	Ahmadpur–Katwa line Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line Andal–Sainthia branch line Andal–Sitarampur loop line Bandel–Katwa line Bankura–Masagram line Bardhaman–Asansol section Bardhaman–Katwa line Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line Howrah–Barddhaman main line Howrah–Bardhaman chord Howrah–Kharagpur line Kharagpur–Bankura–Adra line New Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line Santragachi–Amta branch line Sealdah Main and North section Calcutta Chord link line Kolkata Circular Railway Sealdah–Bangaon line Sealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line Sealdah South section Sheoraphuli–Bishnupur branch line

Suburban
rail transport

Monorail

Defunct lines

Revived/ Under revival	Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway Bankura–Damodar Railway Barasat–Basirhat Light Railway Burdwan–Katwa Railway Bakhtiarpur–Bihar Light Railway Futwah–Islampur Light Railway
Inactive	Bengal Provincial Railway East Coast State Railway Kalighat Falta Railway Mayurbhanj State Railway Dehri Rohtas Light Railway Patna–Digha Ghat line Parlakimedi Light Railway

Zones & Divisions

Eastern	Asansol Howrah Malda Sealdah
East Central	Danapur Dhanbad Mughalsarai Samastipur Sonpur
East Coast	Sambalpur Khurda Road Waltair
North Eastern	Varanasi
Northeast Frontier	Katihar Alipurduar
South Eastern	Adra Chakradharpur Kharagpur Ranchi

Production units/
workshops

Transit points
with Bangladesh

Active	Haldibari–Chilahati Singhabad–Rohanpur Radhikapur–Biral Gede–Darshana Petrapole–Benapole
Defunct	Mahisasan–Shahbajpur Changrabandha–Burimari Gitaldaha–Mogalhat