Jalpaiguri railway station

Jalpaiguri railway station serves Jalpaiguri city in Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Jalpaiguri
Indian Railways station
General information
LocationStation Feeder Road, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, PIN 735 101
India
Coordinates26.5189°N 88.7237°E / 26.5189; 88.7237
Elevation84 metres (276 ft)
Owned byIndian Railways
Operated byNortheast Frontier Railway
Line(s)Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line
Platforms3
Tracks4, 2 on Platform, 2 Loop lines, however line 4(goods) is not connected to others at the RQJ end
Construction
Structure typeStandard on ground
ParkingAvailable
Other information
StatusFunctioning
Station codeJPG
Zone(s) NFR
Division(s) Katihar
History
Opened1878
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesBengal Assam Railway
Location
Jalpaiguri railway station is located in India
Jalpaiguri railway station
Jalpaiguri railway station
Location in West Bengal
Jalpaiguri railway station is located in West Bengal
Jalpaiguri railway station
Jalpaiguri railway station
Jalpaiguri railway station (West Bengal)

History

During the British period all connections from southern parts of Bengal to North Bengal were through the eastern part of Bengal. From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, was in two laps. The first lap was a 185 km journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River, then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey. A 336 km metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri via Jalpaiguri.[1]

The 1.8 km-long Hardinge Bridge across the Padma came up in 1912. In 1926 the metre-gauge section north of the bridge was converted to broad gauge, and so the entire Calcutta–Siliguri route became broad gauge.[1] The route thus ran: SealdahRanaghatBheramaraHardinge BridgeIswardiSantaharHiliParabtipurNilphamariHaldibari-Jalpaiguri-Siliguri.

With the partition of India, this track got trisected. The through route was formally closed after the India–Pakistan War in 1965.[2]

The Siliguri–Haldibari, part of the original broad gauge Calcutta–Siliguri track via Hardinge Bridge, got delinked from the trunk route in 1947. As all the other tracks in the area were metre gauge, it was converted from broad gauge to metre gauge in the late forties. When New Jalpaiguri railway station came up, the line was extended to New Jalpiguri. When broad-gauge lines were laid in the area, it was reconverted to broad gauge and now functions as the Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri Line.[1]

Amenities

Jalpaiguri railway station has the following amenities: computerized reservation center, waiting rooms, retiring rooms, book stall and food stall.

References

  1. "India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri". IRFCA. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  2. "New rail transit route thru India gets govt nod". Priyo Internet Life. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
Preceding station Indian Railways Following station
Kadobari
towards ?
Northeast Frontier Railway zone Mohitnagar Jalpaiguri
towards ?
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