Cherra Companyganj State Railways (CCSR) was a narrow gauge mountain railway that existed in British India.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

The Cherra Companyganj State Railway was conceptualized by Hubert Kench, the British Executive Engineer of Khasi and Jaintia Hills Division, as there was need to connect Shillong, capital of province to Calcutta, then the capital of British India by rail.^[1] The CCSR in Meghalaya was opened to traffic on 6 June 1886. CCSR was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge^[4] tramway and the railway operated between Tharia, a mining town in Meghalaya and Companyganj, now in Sylhet District of Bangladesh, for a distance of 7.5 miles (12.1 km). Seven gradients were worked by rope mechanisms. It was built at a cost of eight lakhs, which was incurred by erstwhile Provincial Government of Assam.^[5] An extension of railway link up to Sylhet and Goalundo was in plan from where railway link to Calcutta already existed^[1] but plans never materialised.

Closure

The railway continued to run between Tharia and Companyganj until the Assam earthquake of 1897 in which the tracks were completely destroyed.^[5] The tracks were not repaired after that^[5] and the railway finally closed in 1900.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Cherra Companyganj State Railways, a mountain railway that existed 125 years ago". The Economic Times. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^ Hilaly, Sarah (2007). The railways in Assam, 1885-1947. Varanasi: Pilgrims Pub. ISBN 978-8177694222.
^ Shyam Bhadra Medhi (1978). Transport system and economic development in Assam. Gauhati: Publication Board, Assam. LCCN 81903856.
^ "Railways to make fresh entry into Meghalaya". The Assam Tribune. 27 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Meghalaya fell off Rly map in 1897". The Indian Express. 1 July 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
^ Sessional Papers: Volume 73. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 1902. The Cherra-Companyganj State Railway ',(Ab'ssam) was finally closed on the 15th October 1900, as since the earthquake it had ceased to earn working expenses, and the volume of the traffic offering was insufficient to justify the line ...

Railways in Eastern India

National network/
trunk lines

Other lines/sections

Interstate	Asansol–Gaya section Asansol–Patna section Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Barkakana–Son Nagar line Barsoi–New Farakka section Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line Dumka–Bhagalpur line Gaya–Mughalsarai section Hatia–Rourkela line Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line Katihar–Siliguri line Kharagpur–Puri line Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section Kothavalasa–Kirandul line New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Tatanagar–Bilaspur section
Bihar	Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line Barauni–Katihar section Barauni–Samastipur section Fatuha–Tilaiya line Gaya–Kiul line Mokama–Barauni section Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi) Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur main line Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section Muzaffarpur–Hajipur section Narkatiaganj–Bhikhna Thori branch line Neora–Jatdumari–Daniyawan–Bihar Sharif–Sheikhpura line Patna–Gaya line Patna–Mughalsarai section Patna–Sonepur–Hajipur section Raxaul–Sagauli line Samastipur–Muzaffarpur section
Jharkhand	Barkakana–Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh line Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line Dhanbad–Chandrapura line Railways in Jharia Coalfield Koderma–Hazaribagh–Barkakana–Ranchi line Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh–Hatia line
Odisha	Khurda Road–Bolangir line Cuttack–Sambalpur line
West Bengal	Ahmadpur–Katwa line Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line Andal–Sainthia branch line Andal–Sitarampur loop line Bandel–Katwa line Bankura–Masagram line Bardhaman–Asansol section Bardhaman–Katwa line Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line Howrah–Barddhaman main line Howrah–Bardhaman chord Howrah–Kharagpur line Kharagpur–Bankura–Adra line New Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line Santragachi–Amta branch line Sealdah Main and North section Calcutta Chord link line Kolkata Circular Railway Sealdah–Bangaon line Sealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line Sealdah South section Sheoraphuli–Bishnupur branch line

Suburban
rail transport

Monorail

Defunct lines

Revived/ Under revival	Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway Bankura–Damodar Railway Barasat–Basirhat Light Railway Burdwan–Katwa Railway Bakhtiarpur–Bihar Light Railway Futwah–Islampur Light Railway
Inactive	Bengal Provincial Railway East Coast State Railway Kalighat Falta Railway Mayurbhanj State Railway Dehri Rohtas Light Railway Patna–Digha Ghat line Parlakimedi Light Railway

Zones & Divisions

Eastern	Asansol Howrah Malda Sealdah
East Central	Danapur Dhanbad Mughalsarai Samastipur Sonpur
East Coast	Sambalpur Khurda Road Waltair
North Eastern	Varanasi
Northeast Frontier	Katihar Alipurduar
South Eastern	Adra Chakradharpur Kharagpur Ranchi

Production units/
workshops

Transit points
with Bangladesh

Active	Haldibari–Chilahati Singhabad–Rohanpur Radhikapur–Biral Gede–Darshana Petrapole–Benapole
Defunct	Mahisasan–Shahbajpur Changrabandha–Burimari Gitaldaha–Mogalhat

Indian railheads
near India–Nepal border

Railway companies