Sealdah–Bangaon line

The line was a part of the old Calcutta–Jessore–Khulna line with trains such as the Barisal Express running through it. Today however it is primarily a suburban section with a total of 138 daily and 112 Sunday EMU services serving the Sealdah–Bangaon section.[3] A further 31 EMU services between Bangaon and Ranaghat junctions, and 2 EMU services, between Bangaon and Shantipur junctions, run via the Ranaghat–Bangaon branch line.[3] The Barasat–Hasnabad branch line is served by a total of 46 daily and 38 Sunday EMU services.[3] Majority of the services are provided by 9-car and 12-car EMU rakes from the Barasat EMU Carshed.[4] Few services in the Ranaghat–Bangaon line are provided by 12-car EMU rakes from the Ranaghat EMU Carshed as well.[4]

Petrapole railway station serves as a major international transit point for freight and, recently, passengers to Bangladesh with the Benapole railway station serving as its Bangladeshi counterpart.[5][6] The Benapole land port, the largest land port of Bangladesh, is directly served by this line along with the roadways at the Benapole Border Crossing and accounts for more than 90% of the imported Indian goods into Bangladesh.[7][8] Major freight commodities handled by this section are foodgrains, fuel, medical oxygen, stone and gypsum amongst others.[6]

On 9 November 2017, a bi-weekly international service from Kolkata to Khulna called the Bandhan Express was started by the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.[9] The train initially had stoppages only at Kolkata, Petrapole, Benapole and Khulna with Petrapole and Benapole serving as border checkpoints. However, due to popular demand a new three minute stoppage was added at Jessore Junction railway station on 7 March 2019.[10]

The line has a major interchange station at Dum Dum for the Line 1 of the Kolkata Metro and the Sealdah Main and North section.[11] Completion of construction and opening of the Line 4 of Kolkata Metro is expected provide four more interchange stations at Dum Dum Cantonment, Madhyamgram, Hridaypur and Barasat Junction.[12][13][14]

The Sealdah–Barasat–Bangaon section is a double line section whereas the Ranaghat–Bangaon–Petrapole–Benapole section is a single line section.[3] In the Barasat–Hasnabad branch line, the Barasat–Sondalia and Lebutala–Champapukur sections are double lined whereas the Champapukur–Hasnabad section is a single line section.[3] The doubling of the Sondalia–Lebutala section of the line is currently under progress.[28]

All the lines in the section are fully electrified with 25 kV AC overhead system. The Sealdah–Bangaon line was electrified in 1963–64, while the Barasat–Hasnabad branch line was electrified in 2002-03 [29]

The lines are primarily served by 9-car and 12-car EMU rakes from the Barasat EMU Carshed.[4] Few services in the Ranaghat–Bangaon line are provided by 12-car EMU rakes from the Ranaghat EMU Carshed as well.[4]

While the section was initially served by the Narkeldanga EMU carshed which opened on 1963, due to the increasing traffic requirements in the Sealdah–Bangaon section and the electrified Barasat–Hasnabad and Ranaghat–Bangaon sections led to the commissioning of the Barasat EMU Carshed in 1990.[4] In 2018, three phase IGBT based 12-car EMU rakes were introduced in this carshed.[4] As of January 2022, the shed contains 8 9-car EMU rakes and 25 12-car EMU rakes, 6 of which are three phase IGBT based.[4]

Similar increase in traffic requirements in the Ranaghat–Gede, Ranaghat–Bangaon, Ranaghat–Shantipur–Krishnanagar City and Ranaghat–Lalgola sections led to the commissioning of the Ranaghat EMU carshed in 2007.[4] As of January 2022, the car shed contains 15 12-car EMU rakes and 6 MEMU rakes of which one is an 8-car rake while the rest are 12-car rakes. Three of the 12-car MEMU rakes are three phase IGBT based rakes.[4]

The Machhalandapur–Swarupnagar, Bira–Chakla, Bangaon–Chandabazar–Bagdah, Bangaon–Poramaheshtala and Hasnabad–Hingalganj new lines were sanctioned in the railway budgets between 2009 and 2012 under the tenure of Mamata Banerjee as the railway minister. None of the projects however could be started because of non-availability of land and hence the work has been kept under abeyance by the Railway Board.[32][33][34]

The name and the setting of the Bengali social drama film, 8:08 Er Bongaon Local is based on the daily suburban EMU local which leaves the Sealdah station for Bangaon Junction at 8:08 a.m. IST.[35][36]

• 
  Main Entrance of the Sealdah railway station
• 
  Dum Dum Junction railway station platform board
• 
  Bird's eye view of Birati railway station
• 
  Platform of Madhyamgram railway station
• 
  Bird's eye view of Barasat Junction railway station
• 
  Main Entrance of Barasat Junction railway station
• 
  Habra railway station platform board
• 
  Platform of Gobardanga railway station
• 
  Thakurnagar railway station platform board
• 
  Platforms of Bangaon railway station
• 
  Chandpara railway station
• 
  Petrapole railway station

• Kolkata/Northern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage