The Tatanagar–Bilaspur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects in the Indian state of Jharkhand and in Chhattisgarh. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through an industrial-mining area and handles high volumes of freight, particularly coal and iron ore.
Geography
The Tatanagar–Bilaspur section of Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line passes through the Saranda forest on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in southern Jharkhand. The area through which it passes includes portions of northern Odisha and northern Chhattisgarh, with topography similar to that of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. It is generally forested area amidst hills alternating with valleys. The major rivers flowing through the area are: Subarnarekha, Kharkai, South Karo, South Koel, Sankh, Brahmani, Ib, Mand and Hasdeo. While the eastern portion of this line connects to iron ore mines spread on both sides of the Jharkhand–Odisha border, the western portion caters to the Ib Valley Coalfield in Odisha and the Korba Coalfield in Chhattisgarh. There are three steel plants in the area: the Jamshedpur Works of Tata Steel, Rourkela Steel Plant of SAIL and Jindal Steel and Power at Raigarh. Bharat Aluminium Company has its plant at Korba. There are several engineering units on this line, as for example Tata Motors at Jamshedpur, Tata Growth Shop and Tayo Rolls at Adityapur, and Larsen & Toubro at Kansbahal. The line extends support to numerous cement plants, power plants, refractory units, ferro alloy plants and a paper mill.
Kalinganagar is an upcoming industrial hub in Odisha.
History
The Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line, a joint effort of Great Indian Peninsula Railway and East Indian Railway Company came up in 1870. The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah–Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad. The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol, on the Howrah–Delhi main line, was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891.
One of the last hurdles for the track was construction of the Saranda Tunnel. It was completed on 1 October 1892. The tunnel pierces the narrow divide between the Subarnarekha and the Brahmani basins.
The long broad gauge Champa–Korba–Gevra Road branch line was constructed between 1953 and 1956.
Railway reorganization
The Bengal Nagpur Railway was nationalized in 1944.Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1955, South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier. Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway. Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway.
Jurisdiction
The mainline from Tatanagar to Jharsuguda, and all branch lines within this portion except Juruli–Jakhapura section are within the jurisdiction of Chakradharpur railway division of South Eastern Railway. The Ib–Bilaspur section of the mainline is under the jurisdiction of Bilaspur railway division of South East Central Railway. Juruli–Jakhapura section is under the jurisdiction of East Coast railway.
Movement of steel plant raw materials
Frontline paid rich tributes to Bengal Nagpur Railway/South Eastern Railway:
"As it expanded its network at a rapid pace to help in the exploitation of the rich mineral resources in the region. New lines were laid and connections made to facilitate the movement of iron ore to the new steel plants – TISCO and IISCO at Tatanagar and Burnpur respectively. To tap the coal reserves in Jharia, a 115-mile-long (184 km) line connecting Midnapore with Bhojudih was set up in 1903 and extended to Gomoh in 1907. In 1922, the Talcher coalfields were linked by a rail line taking off from Nergundi on the East Coast. The Raipur-Vizianagaram link was completed in 1931, connecting the East Coast with the Central Province. Following these developments, the BNR Company owned the largest narrow gauge network in the country… "As independent India embarked on a policy of rapid industrialisation, the SER took upon the task of moving raw materials by constructing new lines from plants to the mine heads at Dallhirajra, Ahiwara, Barsuan, Kiriburu and Meghataburu. Doubling of sections and progressive electrification were taken up along with the setting up of marshalling yards and exchange yards to meet the demands of the steel sector."