Saharsa–Purnia line is a single

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

track from to of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

state. The line connects

Saharsa Saharsa is a city and municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for the Saharsa District ...

to the Mini Darjeeling of Bihar

Purnia Purnia (; also romanized and officially known as Purnea) is the fourth largest city of Bihar and is emerging as the largest economic hub in North Bihar. It serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia divisi ...

. The Saharsa–Purnia Court section falls under Samastipur Division of

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at and comprises , , , and divisions. History First set up on 8 September 1996 with headquarters at Hajipur, Bihar, East Central R ...

and Purnia Court–Purnia Junction section under Katihar Division of

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across N ...

History

The construction of the Purnea - Banmankhi - Murliganj and Bihariganj line, built by the East Bengal Railway, began in 1929 and was completed in 1937, passing through this station. After India’s independence, the Saharsa - Budhmaghat line was extended to Murliganj in 1954, connecting the entire Purnea - Saharsa section with -wide metre-gauge tracks. The

gauge conversion Track gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. In general, requirements depend on whether the conversion is from a wider gauge to a narrower gauge or vice versa, on how the ...

work on the Purnia - Saharsa line commenced in the year 2007-08, resulting in a partial suspension of train services. However, the unprecedented floods in the Kosi River in 2008 severely disrupted and delayed the project. After eight years of construction, the broad gauge (BG) line on the remaining Banmankhi - Purnia section was finally completed and inaugurated on June 10, 2016, by the then Railway Minister of India,

Suresh Prabhu Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1996 to 2009, representing Rajapur in the Lok Sabha. He was also a member of the ''Rajya Sabha'', representing Andhra Pradesh ...

Branch Line

Banmankhi–Bihariganj line

The Banmankhi–Bihariganj line is a broad-gauge railway line in

, under the jurisdiction of the

. The line spans approximately 27 km, connecting Banmankhi Junction (BNKI) in

Purnia district Purnia District is one of the thirty-eight Districts of Bihar, districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Purnia is the administrative headquarters of this district. The city of Purnia has continued its tradition of hoisting the nationa ...

to Bihariganj (BHGJ) in

Madhepura district Madhepura district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Madhepura town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Madhepura district is a part of Kosi division. History Madhepura district is part of the Kos ...

. The

of this line was part of the Purnia–Saharsa line gauge conversion project. It was inaugurated in 2018, enhancing rail connectivity in the region. The line have primarily three passenger trains for and , facilitating transportation between rural and urban areas.

Trains

# Kosi Express #

Janaki Intercity Express The 15283 / 84 Janaki Intercity Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways East Central Railway zone that runs between and in India. It operates as train number 15283 from to and as train number 15284 in the reverse direction ...

# Hate Bazare Express # Purnia Court–Amritsar Jan Sewa Express # Janhit Express #Saharsa–Purnia DEMU #Saharsa–Bihariganj DEMU #Saharsa–Purnia Court Fast Passenger #Bihariganj–Purnia Court DEMU #Saharsa–Dauram Madhepura MEMU

References

{{reflist, 30em East Central Railway zone

History

Branch Line

Banmankhi–Bihariganj line

Trains

See also

References