Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line

Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line is a branch line of the Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line of Indian Railways connecting Balurghat, the district headquarters of Dakshin Dinajpur district with Eklakhi in Malda district of West Bengal.^[1]

Eklakhi-Balurghat branch line
Balurghat railway station
Overview
Status	Operation
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	West Bengal
Termini	Eklakhi Balurghat
Stations	11
Service
Operator(s)	Northeast Frontier Railway zone
History
Opened	2004; 21 years ago (2004)
Technical
Line length	87 km (54 mi)
Electrification	2023 with 25 kV AC
Route map Legend km 116 Hilli 109 Trimohani 99 Kamarpara ↑ planned 87 Balurghat Barsoi–Radhikapur line 75 Mallickpurhat Kaliyaganj 67 Rampur Bazar 64 Malancha Barsoi–Radhikapur line 55 Gangarampur Fatepur Hat Punarbhaba River Kushmundi Tangon River Aminpur 42 Buniadpur Kaliyaganj-Buniadpur line (planned) Barsoi–Radhikapur line Raiganj 33 Daulatpur 25 Deotala Barsoi–Radhikapur line 20 Mahanagar Rupahari Halt Harirampur Durgapur Itahar–Buniadpur line (planned) Raiganj–Itahar line (planned) Itahar Bangar Itahar–Gazole line (planned) 14 Gazole 0 Eklakhi Junction Barsoi–New Farakka section   km

History

The main line of Eastern Bengal Railway from Sealdah to Siliguri via Ranaghat, Darshana, Santahar, Parbatipur and Haldibari was built in 1878. It passed through Hili in the then unified Dinajpur District.^[2]

With the partition of India in 1947, the Chilahati–Parbatipur–Darshana section went to the then East Pakistan. Almost three-fourths of the town of Hili along with the railway station fell inside East Pakistan.^[3] The partitioned West Dinajpur district in India had only one connection from Barsoi to Radhikapur near the border. With the partition of this district in 1992, the newly formed Dakshin Dinajpur district lacked any rail connections. To rectify this situation a new line was proposed from Eklakhi in Malda district to the Dakshin Dinajpur district headquarters in Balurghat. This line was completed and opened on 30 December 2004.^[4]

Proposed Extensions

The line from Balurghat has been proposed to be extended right up to Hili town on the Indian side of the Indo-Bangladesh border. A major junction has also been planned to be set up in Itahar and to connect it with Buniadpur & Gazole stations on the Eklakhi–Balurghat line and with Raiganj on the Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line. A new line connecting Buniadpur to Kaliyaganj on the Barsoi–Radhikapur line via Kushmandi is also planned.^[5][6]

Stations

Station code	Station name	Distance (km)
EKl	Eklakhi	0
GZO	Gazole	14
MANG	Mahanagar	20
DOTL	Deotala	25
DLPH	Daulatpur Halt	33
BNDP	Buniadpur	42
GRMP	Gangarampur	55
MLNH	Malancha	64
RMPB	Rampur Bazar	67
MKRH	Mallickpurhat	75
BLGT	Balurghat	87

Electrification

The electrification of this route was started in 2018 and now functioning with 25 kV AC from May 2023.^[7][8]