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Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway is one of the sixteen zones of the Indian Railways with headquarters at Kolkata. Eastern Railway serves areas that are rich in minerals, agriculture and industry, important to the economy of the country.
History
The precursor of Eastern Railway was the East Indian Railway which came into existence in 1845 to connect the Eastern areas of India (West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa) with Delhi.
The Eastern Railway was born out of the merger of Howrah, Asansol and Danapur divisions of East India Railway with Bengal Nagpur Railway and the Sealdah division of the Bengal Assam Railway in April 1952. After this, there were many instances of reorganization that took place and South Eastern Railway and the South Central Railway Zones were carved out of the large Eastern Railway Zone.
Jurisdiction
After reorganization of the Zones, Eastern Railway since October 2002, consists of four divisions; Sealdah, Howrah, Asansol and Malda. It serves the states of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand with 2452 Route Kms out of which 1374 Route Kms are electrified. The entire zone is Broad Gauge and there is no Meter or Narrow Gauge in this zone.
Workshops
This Railway zone has three major Workshops for Coach, Wagon & Locomotive repairs situated at-
- Jamalpur workshop is used for wagon repairs and periodic overhaul (POH)of diesel locomotives. It also manufactures wagons, 140 ton cranes, tower-wagons and whiting jacks.
- Liluah workshop is used for periodic overhaul of coaches and freight vehicles
- Kanchrapara workshop is used for periodic overhaul of electric locomotives, EMUs and coaches.
- Passenger Services
Some important passenger services are:
- Rajdhani Express, introduced for the first time by Indian Railways between Howrah and New Delhi in 1969.
- Duronto Express trains, introduced for the first time by Indian Railways between Sealdah and New Delhi in-2009.
- Suburban Services : Howrah and Sealdah divisions service Greater Kolkata suburban passengers, with 1200 EMUs/MEMUs run every day. This the second largest suburban network run by Indian Railways after the Mumbai Suburban Service.
- Diesel Multiple Units service introduced for the first time in the country for those sections which are not electrified.
- Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) introduced for passenger services in non-suburban areas.
- One International Mail- Express train “Maitree Express” between India and Bangladesh, which runs from Kolkata to Dhaka via Gede, started on 14-04-2008.
Freight Services
- More than 54 Million Tonnes freight was carried in 2010-11 constituting 65%-70% coal and other important raw materials such as Iron and Steel products, Stone from Pakur and Jamalpur, Cement from Durgapur and other merchandise including Jute, Tea, Textile, Automobiles, agricultural produce etc.
- Goods train service between India and Bangladesh via Gede
Rail Museum
The prestigious railway museum at Howrah spread over an area of 4 acres was inaugurated on April 07, 2006 exhibiting the rich history and heritage of more than 150 years of service by the Indian Railways. About 25,000 visitors visit this Museum every month. It is also popular with tourists and railway enthusiasts. New museums are planned at Howrah and Bolpur, along with a Cultural Complex at Howrah.