The Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section is a

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

connecting

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district on the banks of Burhi Gandak River, Burhi Gandak river in the Tirhut division of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur distri ...

Sitamarhi Sitamarhi is the headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in Tirhut Division, Bihar. The city was named in honour of Sītā, wife of Rāma, who was born in Sitamarhi according to Hindu legends. In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was create ...

in the Indian state 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 ...

. The line passes through the plains of

North Bihar ''North Bihar'' is a term used for the region of Bihar, India, which lies north of the Ganga river. Towns and Cities * Naugachia A sub-division in the Bhagalpur district, Naugachia is renowned for its banana farming and is affectionatel ...

History

The foundation for this project was laid by the then railway minister,

Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the First Modi ministry, first and Second Modi ministry, second Modi ministries. Pasw ...

, in 1997. When

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is Bihar's longest ...

succeeded he sanctioned funds for it in 2001.

Project and construction

It took 16 years to complete the 63 km-long Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi broad-gauge railway line. The project cost Rs 550 crore though the initial estimate was Rs 250 crore. The railway was completed from Runni Saidpur to Sitamarhi in April 2011. The remaining section between Muzaffarpur and Runni Saidpur took another two years due to civil objections. The first train Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi Passenger left on 27 March 2013

Stations

There are 8 stations between and .

Trains

Until December 2014, 2 pairs of passenger trains and 3 pairs of

Express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

trains were running in the Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section. From 13 July 2014, Sitamarhi–

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Anand Vihar Terminal Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station on the Indian Railways network, located in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of Ind ...

Lichchavi Express The 14005 / 14006 Lichchavi Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways – Northern Railway zone that runs between and Sitamarhi in India. It operates as train number 14006 from Anand Vihar Terminal to Sitamarhi and as train nu ...

was diverted to run via Muzaffarpur in the Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section which earlier ran via

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

→Samastipur→Muzaffarpur. Now the 14006/14005

directly runs between Sitamarhi→Muzaffarpur. ;DEMU Trains * 75207/75208 Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi–

Samastipur Samastipur is a City and Municipal Corporation in Bihar, India. It is the headquarter of Samastipur district and comes under Darbhanga division. The Burhi Gandak River flows through the city. It is one of the five railway divisions of ECR, H ...

Passenger * 75255/75256 Muzaffarpur–Darbhanga Passenger * 75215/75216 Raxaul-Patliputra Fast Passenger ;Express Trains * 14008/14007 Sadbhavana Express (

Raxaul Raxaul is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated at the India-Nepal border with Birgunj city (Nepal). Raxaul is a major railway junction. The other part of Raxaul is Mehsi where litchi ...

–

via Muzaffarpur & Sitamarhi) * 14018/14017 Sadbhavana Express (Raxaul–Delhi via Muzaffarpur & Sitamarhi) * 14006/14005

(Sitamarhi–Delhi

via Muzaffarpur) * 13123/13124 Sitamarhi- Sealdah Express

Speed limit

The Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section of Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi) is not an A-Class line of

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

. So maximum speed is restricted to 100 km/h, as there is single BG non-electrified line between Muzaffarpur Junction and Sitamarhi Junction which was completed in 2013.

Sidings and workshops

Kanti Thermal Power Station NTPC Kanti also known as George Fernandes Thermal Power Plant Station is located in Kanti, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. George Fernandes was former Member of Parliament from Muzaffarpur constituency of Bihar. It is wholly owned subsidiary company of NTPC ...

, Muzaffarpur * Bharat Wagon Engineering Limited, Muzaffarpur

References

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi section 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Railway lines in Bihar * * Railway lines opened in 2013