Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line is a -long 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 , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

track from Madhupur town in

Deoghar district Deoghar district (pronounced, ''Devo ka ghar'') is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Deoghar, the central city of the district, is also its administrative headquarters. This district is known for the Baidyan ...

Koderma Kodarma (also spelled as Koderma) is a city and a notified area in the Koderma subdivision of the Koderma district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Demographics As per 2011 Census of India, Kodarma Nagar Parishad had a total population of ...

town in

Koderma district Koderma district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Koderma is the administrative headquarters of this district. Koderma district was created on 10 April 1994, after being carved out of the original Hazaribagh d ...

via

Giridih Giridih is headquarters of the Giridih district of Jharkhand state, India. The city of Giridih is known for its industrial and health sectors, as well as its scenic beauty. Giridih houses the Giridih Coalfield which is one of the oldest coalfi ...

town in

Giridih district Giridih district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwe ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . ...

state. It is an extended route of Madhupur–Giridih railway line. The Koderma–Maheshmunda section falls under

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with P ...

Division of

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur, Samastipur, Danapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, and Dhanbad divisions. History First set up on 8 Se ...

and Giridih–Madhupur section under Asansol Division of Eastern Railway. The construction of rail line from Koderma to Maheshmunda was done under supervision of Dhanbad Division of East Central Railway.

History

Giridih railway station Giridih railway station, station code GRD, is the main railway station serving the city of Giridih, the headquarters of Giridih district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Giridih station also serves as a gateway for the Jain pilgrims visiting P ...

was built as a railway siding in 1871 by the British government in India (prior to the India's independence in 1947) mainly for transport of mineral reserve from the region. The contract for the railway siding was awarded in 1865 and the construction was completed in 1871. The siding is owned by

Central Coalfields Limited Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), an undertaking of the Government of India. CCL was established in 1956 as National Coal Development Corporation Limited and is a Category-I Mini Ratna company sinc ...

. A track from

to Maheshmunda was constructed. This extended the Madhupur–Giridih railway line to Koderma, effectively making it a Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line. A new railway station was built in

named as

New Giridih railway station New Giridih railway station, station code NGRH, is a satellite railway station serving the city of Giridih in the Indian state of Jharkhand apart from the existing main Giridih railway station. It is situated nearby to the Khandoli Reservoir-c ...

(NGRH) which leaves out the already existing

(GRD) on this route, also making Maheshmunda a junction station. On 16 February 2019, Eastern Railway in its press-release announced a passenger train service w.e.f. 25 February 2019 from

to Madhupur via . Onward journey duration is of 4 hours and 5 minutes while the return journey duration is 4 hours and 25 minutes. Eastern Railway also announced another passenger train service w.e.f. 25 February 2019 from Koderma to Maheshmunda Junction through the same press-release. Onward journey duration is of 3 hours while the return journey duration is 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Electrification

Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line was completely electrified in October 2020.

Further extension

There are plans from the Railway ministry to connect with via Madhuban, for the convenience of the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

pilgrims visiting

Shikharji Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara an ...

. construction of which was sanctioned and the project included in the Union Budget 2018-19 at a cost of ₹902.86 Crores on a 50:50 cost sharing basis between the Government of Jharkhand and Indian Railways. The foundation stone for construction was laid in 2019. The 49-km long railway line will have two crossing stations and a couple of halts. During the financial year 2022-23, Indian Railways had allotted ₹50 Crores for the above project for early starting of the project. In a land acquisition application submitted to DLAO/Giridih by DyCE/Con/HZME office, ₹78.27 Crores were demanded for Raiyati land of 26 villages and payment for land acquisition is yet awaited for deposition of fund from Government of Jharkhand. There are other proposals as well to connect with via Tundi and Govindpur, and with via Bengabad, Chakai and Sono. The first phase of the Jhajha–New Giridih rail line involves 20-km long Jhajha–Batia section, the foundation for which was laid in 2019 and which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 496 crore. A final location survey for 7.54 km-long bypass line was sanctioned in February 2020 after construction of which trains from can run up to and without loco reversal at . A delay of more than 30 minutes for an engine change at will thus be avoided. The estimated cost of the linking project is Rs 281 crore.

Description

Following is the list of stations that are on – route via .

Trains

Single passenger train run five times a day between –. The train service on Madhupur–Giridih rail route started in 1871. The passenger trains are run by

Eastern Railway zone The Eastern Railway (abbreviated ER) is among the 19 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata and comprises four divisions: , , , and . Each division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM). The name o ...

. The trains run five times daily except Thursdays and four times on Thursday. Following are the trains arriving and departing from . After the construction of

–Maheshmunda section in 2019, new passenger trains were started on this route which are run by

. Following are the trains running on this route via . A new express train connecting to was announced by Koderma MP

Annapurna Devi (1927 – 13 October 2018) was an Indian surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani classical music. She was given the name 'Annapurna' by former Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the former Maihar Estate (M.P.), and it was by this name that she wa ...

on 6th April 2023 and

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

released an official notification for the same on 23rd August 2023. The inaugural run of New Giridih–Ranchi Intercity Express was flagged off by Koderma MP

on 12 September 2023 and regular service commenced from 13 September 2023. As of now it is the only long distance express train running on this rail line, connecting the city of

with the state capital

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

, and also the only train running with a Vistadome coach in the state of

References

External links

India Rail Info

Erail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhupur-Giridih-Koderma line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in Jharkhand Asansol railway division Dhanbad railway division Railway lines opened in 1871