Now, electric trains will run on Bhagalpur-Kiul railway section

BHAGALPUR: With the completion of electrification work on Bhagalpur-Jamalpur-Kiul railway section under Malda railway division of Eastern Railway and flagging off of the Vikramshila Express from Bhagalpur to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi) with the first electrical engine on Monday, the Eastern Railways aims at providing better communication network in this railway section.
The step is seen as a landmark in the history of railways. Work related to electrification between Bhagalpur-Rampurhat in the eastern route to Kolkata, Guwahati etc are in progress under Eastern Railways, said sources. Earlier, as there was no electrification between Kiul and Bhagalpur railway stations, the practice was to replace the electric engines of the trains passing through the section by diesel engines at Kiul which was time consuming.
The non-electrification of railway section also resulted in failure of the railways in the introduction of important trains like Rajdhani Express and others besides trains from eastern and north-eastern destinations had to take circuitous routes.
Malda division railway sources said the electrification work of railway section was done by the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), Allahabad, under the ministry of railways and it has been entrusted with the responsibility to carry out railway electrification since it was set up in 1971.
“The total route electrification between Kiul-Bhagalpur-Sahibganj-Barharwa-Malda is 247 km. Between Malda and Pakur it is 74 km, from Nalhati to Ajimganj it is 45 km, Katwa-Ajimganj is 73 km and Ajimganj-Farakka-Tildanga is 85 km under Eastern Railways (ER),” said sources adding, “We can hope for better railway facilities, introduction of new and faster trains in near future with the completion of entire stretch of railway route under ER.”
Station Manager at Bhagalpur railway station Samar Kumar Singh said that it is a great day for the railway passengers here. The electrification of the railway route is likely to result in introduction of new and faster trains in future besides reducing time.