Nagpur–Bhusawal section

The Nagpur–Bhusawal section (railway track) is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line (alternatively known as Mumbai–Kolkata line / Bombay–Calcutta line) and connects Nagpur and Bhusawal both in the Indian state of Maharashtra. This section also has a number of branch lines. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, Nagpur–Bhusawal section passes through a section of the Deccan Plateau. The main line crosses Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, and Buldhana districts of Vidarbha region and Jalgaon district of Khandesh region.[1][2][3][4]

Nagpur–Bhusawal section
Vidarbha Express arrives at Badnera Junction which an important train on Nagpur–Bhusawal section
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerIndian Railways
LocaleMaharashtra (Vidarbha and Khandesh)
Termini
Service
SystemMain line and some branch lines electrified. Some branch lines: diesel
ServicesHowrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line
Operator(s)Central Railway
Depot(s)Ajni, Bhusawal
History
Opened1867
Technical
Track lengthMainline: 389 km (242 mi)
Branch lines:
Shakuntala Railway: 189 km (117 mi)
Pulgaon-Arvi 35 km (22 mi)
Badnera–Narkhed: 138 km (86 mi)
Butibori–Umrer branch line 34 km (21 mi)
Number of tracksMain line: 2
Track gaugeMain line: 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
ElectrificationYes
Operating speedMain line: up to 130 km/h
Highest elevation314 metres (1,030 ft) at Nagpur, 284 metres (932 ft) Akola and 208 metres (682 ft) at Bhusawal
Route map

km
316
Bhusaval
to Deepnagar
Bhusawal TPS
304
Varangaon
296
Achegaon
286
Bodwad
279
Kolhadi
277
Khamkhed
Nal Ganga River
266
Malkapur
258
Wadoda
Biswa Ganga River
252
Biswa Bridge
246
Kumgaon Burti
238
Nandura
Khamgaon
226
Jalamb
214
Shegaon
206
Shri Kshetra Nagziri
197
Paras
189
Gaigaon
SH197-IN jct.svg SH 197
Morna River
SH204-IN jct.svg SH 204
177
Akola Junction Akola Airport
170
Yeulkhed
159
Borgaon
Katepurna River
km
150
Katepurna
000
139
Murtajapur
000
017
Achalpur 
Sapan River
9
Nowbagh
0
Chamak
8
Khusta Buzurg
9
Pathrot
10
Anjangaon
18
Kapustalni
25
Kokalda
30
Lehgaon
Bhuleshwari River
38
Banosa
SH212-IN jct.svg SH 212
47
Lakhpuri
139
60
0
Murtizapur Junction
Murtazapur Town
02
Kinkhed
12
Uma River
Vilegaon
19
Bhadshivni
24
Pohe
27
Karania
32
Karania Town
33
Somthan
46
Sangwi
49
Adan River
Warudkhed
53
Darwha Moti Bagh
71
Tapona
83
Ladkhed
88
Ling
93
Lasina
101
Yavatmal Airport Yavatmal
113
Mana
127
Uma River
Mandura
121
Kuram
114
Takli
106
Amravati Airport Badnera
098
0
9
Amravati
Timtala
89
11
New Amravati
Malkhed
83
SH200-IN jct.svg SH 200
Chandur
69
SH6-IN jct.svg SH 6
SH243-IN jct.svg SH 243
Pendhi River
Dipore
62
24
Walgaon
Dhamangaon
52
37
Shirala
SH237-IN jct.svg SH 237
50
Chandur Bazar
Talni
42
Pendhi River
Pulgaon barrage
across Wardha River
SH241-IN jct.svg SH 241
57
Kolihir
Pulgaon
32
Arvi
SH24A-IN jct.svg SH 24A
66
Astegaon
SH244-IN jct.svg SH 244
72
Morshi
Kaotha
26
SH24A-IN jct.svg SH 24A
Dhegaon
17
79
Pala
Wardha River
Wardha
03
85
Hiwarkheda
SH3-IN jct.svg SH 3
100
Benoda
SH244-IN jct.svg SH 244
Sewagram
00
109
Warud Orange City
SH258-IN jct.svg SH 258
Warud
03
120
Pusala
Dham River
Jam River
Seloo Road
11
129
Mowad
Tuliapur
21
Sindi
29
138
Narkhed
NH44-IN.svg NH 44 (old NH 7)
BPCL bulk petroleum depot
km
Borkhedi
41
Wena River
Butibori
49
NH44-IN.svg NH 44 (old NH 7)
Gumgaon
57
Khapri
64
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport Ajni
73
Nagpur Motibagh
75
Nagpur
76
Main line via Itwari
to Chhindwara
and Naqbhir
(
narrow
gauge
)
km

History

The Great Indian Peninsula Railway extended the line from Bhusawal to Nagpur in 1867.[5]

The 189 km (117 mi)-long, 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge AchalpurMurtajapurYavatmal line, known as the Shakuntala Railway was built by a British firm, Killik Nixon & Company, in 1903, to carry cotton from the interior of Vidarbha to the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line at Murtajapur.[6][7] The line, run by the Central Provinces Railways Company, India's only operational private railway company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange,[8][9] The line is under conversion to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.

The 35 km (22 mi)-long, 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railway was built from Pulgaon to Arvi by Central Provinces Railway in 1917.[10][6] This line is also under conversion to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.

The 34 km (21 mi)-long, 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Butibori–Umrer branch line linking Umrer Coalfield to the main line was established in 1965.[11] The newly laid 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Narkhed–Amravati branch line was opened in 2012.[12]

There was a 1,469 kilometres (913 mi)-long 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)-wide metre-gauge line from Jaipur to Secunderabad via Akola. Most of the part of this line has been converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.[13] The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was taken over by the state in 1925.[14] In 1951, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway, the Scindia State Railways and the Dholpur Railways were merged to form Central Railway.[15]

The entire main line is electrified. Electrification of the railways in the region started in 1968–69 and continued up to Nandura in 1988–89. The Nandura-Badnera sector was electrified in 1989–90. The Badnera–Wardha sector was electrified in 1990–91. Badnera–Amaravati sector was electrified in 1993–94, Jalamb–Khamgaon and Butibori–Umrer in 1994–95.[16]

In 1910, the District Gazetteer of Buldhana gave an account of the railway line and its importance from the point of view of trade:

The Nagpur Branch of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway runs a distance of about 47 miles through the District from west to east, and is connected with Khamgaon by a branch from Jalamb 8 miles in length. The railway stations in the District are Khamkhed, Malkapur, Biswa, Nandura, Jalamb, Khamgaon, Shegaon and Nagjhari. Of these the leading stations for exports and imports are Khamgaon, Shegaon and Malkapur. The first two stations despatch to Bombay mainly cotton and grain produced in the Khamgaon and Mehkar talukas and the greater portion of that produced in the Chikhli taluk; Malkapur sends away grain, linseed, cotton, gur and other articles which it receives from the Malkapur taluk and from the north-west portion of the Chikhli taluk. Nandura is the principal outlet of the Jalgaon taluk although it also exports certain produce from the Malkapur taluk.[17]

Loco sheds

There are electric locomotive sheds at Ajni and Bhusawal on this line and a narrow gauge diesel loco shed at Murtazapur. Ajni loco shed has WAG-7, WAG-9,WAP-7 and WAG-9I locos. Bhusawal loco shed has WAM-4, WAP-4, WAG-5, WAG-7 and WCM-6 locos.[18]

Workshops

Central Railway has three workshops on this line. Nagpur has a workshop for upkeep of passenger coaches and Ajni has facilities for repair of goods wagons. Bhusawal has a workshop for repairs of locos and wagons.[18]

Economy

This line passes through the cotton producing areas of Vidarbha.[19][20] Mahagenco has two major power stations on this route – the 500MW Paras Thermal Power Station and the 920 MW Bhusawal Thermal Power Station.[21] Reliance Power has a 600 mW thermal power station at Butibori.[22]

Coal-based thermal power stations consume large quantities of coal.[23] For example, the Bhusawal Thermal Power Station consumed 2,400,000 tonnes of coal in 2006–07, and the Paras Thermal Power Station consumed 351,000 tonnes of coal in the same year.[24] Around 80 per cent of the domestic coal supplies in India are meant for coal based thermal power plants and coal transportation forms 42 per cent of the total freight earnings of Indian railways.[25] There are over 200 coal loading points across India. Coal is transported by rail to around 60 thermal power stations, 12 steel plants and 55 cement factories forming the major customers of coal.[26]

Speed and passenger movement

The entire Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is classified as a "Group A" line which can take speeds up to 160 km/h (99 mph).[27]

Nagpur, Akola and Bhusawal, on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.[28]

References

  1. "Communications – Railways". The Gazetteers Department, Maharashtra. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  2. "Brief Industrial Profile of Nagpur District" (PDF). MSME Development Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  3. "Railway Network in Wardha". Wardha district administration. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  4. "Communications – Introduction". The Gazetteers Department, Maharashtra. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  5. Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1832–1865). "IR History: Early Days – I". IFCA. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  6. "Indian Narrow Gauge Lines 2002-2003". IRFCA. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  7. More, Vaidehi (2 February 2012). "A historic train faces an uncertain future". The Times of India. Nagpur. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  8. "A curious relic from another era". The Hindu Business Line. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  9. "A railway ride into history". BBC, 26 November 2004. 26 November 2004. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  10. "IR History: Part III (1900-1947)". IRFCA. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  11. Moonis Raza & Yash Aggarwal (1986). Transport Geography of India: Commodity Flow and the Regional Structure of Indian Economy. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 60. ISBN 81-7022-089-0. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  12. Pinjarkar, Vijay. "Green signal for traffic on Narkhed Amaravati rail line". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  13. "Gauge conversion of Ratlam-Khandwa-Mhow-Akola". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  14. "IR History: Part III (1900-1947)". IRFCA. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  15. "Geography : Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  16. "History of Electrification". IRFCA. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  17. "Trade routes". The Gazetteers Department, Maharashtra. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  18. "Sheds and Workshops". IRFCA. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  19. Ranade, Prabha Shastri (1990). Population dynamics in India. ISBN 9788170243076. Retrieved 20 March 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  20. Damayanti Dutta and Kiran Tare. "Rahul's Lost Widows". India Today, 7 November 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  21. "Installed capacity of Mahagenco". Mahagenco. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  22. "Reliance-Power starts up second unit of Butibori plant". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  23. "Diagram of a typical coal-fired thermal power station" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  24. "Coal supply to various power stations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  25. "Indian Railways, CIL to collaborate for additional coal transport capacity". Mining weekly.com, 14 February 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  26. "Chapter 3: Coal movement on Indian Railways". Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  27. "Chapter II – The Maintenance of Permanent Way". Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  28. "Indian Railways Passenger Reservation Enquiry". Availability in trains for Top 100 Booking Stations of Indian Railways. IRFCA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
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