Dhanbad Division-A Historical Perspective

Dhanbad is a premier coal loading division of . The first colliery line on this division was laid in 1894 and the section was opened in 1906. The division was initially created as a transportation sub-division of division in 1946. A full-fledged division became operational in 1963.

Dhanbad division was initially one of the five divisions of the Eastern Railway but after the formation of ‘East Central Railway’ on 1stOctober, 2002,Dhanbad division became part of East Central Railway along with four other divisions i.e. Mughalsarai, Danapur, Sonepur and Samastipur with headquarter at Hajipur.

Dhanbaddivision primarily loads coal.Most of the coal is carried to ‘Up’ country power houses located in , , and U.P. Coal is also loaded for industries (non-core) located in Northern . Coal also moves for ‘Down’ country destinations viz. power houses located in , and washed coal to steel plants located at , IISCO Burnpur&Tisco. Other commodities loaded on the division are bauxite from Tori, Richughuta and Meralgram for Hindalco plant at Renukoot, lime stone/dolomite from Bhavnathpur for steel plant and cement from ACC- and Lemos-Khalari.

The territorial jurisdiction of the division covers Pradhankhunta(incl.)-Manpur(excl.), --Garwa Road-Chopan, Chopan-Singrauli-Mahadiya, Karaila Road- Shaktinagar, Dhanbad-Sindri town, Dhanbad-Patherdih&Dhanbad- sections. It deals with traffic on two important routes namely G.C. (Grand Chord) section from Pradhankhunta to Manpur& the CIC (Central Industrial Coalfields) section from Gomoh- Barkakana-Garwa road.

The division has vast geographical area covering 4 states i.e., , , and Madhya Pradesh and 13 districts - Dhanbad, , Hazaribagh, Koderma, Nawada, Gaya, Bokaro, , Latehar, Palamau, Garwa, Sidhi&Sonebhadra.

The Division today covers 3 distinct coal mining areas viz., the Coalfields serving primarily Limited, Karanpura area serving primarily Ltd., and the Singrauli Coalfields of the Northern Coalfields Ltd.

The Parasnath Jain temple which finds its mention in the world tourists Pilgrim destination, built in 1867 and dedicated to Sheetalnathji, the 10th of the 24 tirthankaras, is situated on this division. Parasnath, the 23rdthirthankara, achieved ‘NIRVANA’ here some 100 years after his birth.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE DIVISION Track/Route Kilometers (As on 01.10.15) Track KM ELECTRIFIED NON-ELECTRIFIED Total  Total Kilometers (Track) 1888.012 678.207 2566.219  Route Kilometers a) Single line 173.596 436.527 610.123 b) Double line 428.523 -- 428.523  Total Route Km 602.119 436.527 1038.646 Route Kilometre and Track Kilometre group-wise Route Kilometre Track Kilometre Sl. Group BG Total Group BG Total 1. Group ’A’ 202.51 202.51 Group ’A’ 405.02 405.02 2. Group ‘D’ Spl. 380.02 380.02 Group ‘D’ Spl. 596.94 596.94 3. Group ‘E 456.116 456.116 Group ‘E 499.619 499.619 Total Route Km. 1038.646 1038.646 1501.579 1501.579 Division Wise Route/Track Kilometre: Route Km Track Km (Main line) Loops & Sdgs. Total Track Km 902.287 1364.877 1064.64 2429.517 Number of Bridges Major Bridges 164 Minor Bridges 2119 ROB 79 RUB 40 Total 2402 Manned Level Crossings Sl. No. Class Traffic Engineering Total 1 Special class 15 5 20 2 A Class 07 04 11 3 B Class 14 8 22 4 C Class 51 64 115 TOTAL 87 81 168 Un-Manned Level Crossings Sl. No. Class Engineering 1 ‘C’ Class 25 2 ‘D’ Class cattle X’ings 74 TOTAL 99 Number & Types of stations on Dhanbad Division No of Block Stations 130 No of Non-Block Stations 01 (Kawar) No of IBPs 03 No of Passenger Halts 12 TOTAL 146 Central Panel Stations 98 End Panel Stations 09 Solid State Interlocking 05 Route Relay Interlocking 02 Lever Frame 17 TOTAL 131 Number of L C Gates on Dhanbad Division No of Traffic Gates 87 No of Engineering Gates 81 TOTAL 168

Train Controls on the Division

Dhanbad, Barkakana, Chopan Major Yards

Dhanbad, Gomoh ,Patherdih, , Barwadih & Obradam Loading Areas

Jharia Area - Kusunda, , Patherdih, Sindri, Barkakana - Chainpur, Ray, Khalari, Tori, Richuguta, Garwa Road, Area Rajhura Chopan Area - Krishnashilla, Singrauli, Meralgram, Billi, Shaktinagar & Salaibanwa PD Branch - Barkakana, Patratu

Coal Loading Areas  Jharia area serving primarily BCCL, CCL & IISCO(Chasnala)  Karanpura area (Barkakana) serving primarily CCL & West Bokaro of TISCO  Singrauli area (Chopan) serving primarily NCL Other Commodities Loading Areas:  Bauxite from Tori, Richughuta&Meralgram (Bhavnathpur)  Lime Stone from Bhavnathpur  Cement from ACC-Sindri and Limos-Khalari  Caustic Soda from GarwaRoad&Renukoot(Aditya Birla Chemical India Limited)  Stone Chips & Ballast from Billi  Clinker from Salaibanwa

Interchange Points  Eastern Railway : ASANSOL DIVISION o Pradhankhunta – on GC

 South Eastern Railway : ADRA DIVISION o Khanudih – on GC o Rajabera – on CIC o Barkakana- on CIC o -on Branch line ex. Patherdih o Jamuniatand-ex.Chandrapura

 West Central Railway : JABALPUR DIVISION o Mahadiya

 North Central Railway : DIVISION o Chopan  East Central Railway : MUGHALSARAI DIVISION o Garwa Road o Manpur

Passenger Traffic  97 pairs of Mail/Express  25 pairs of passenger trains  10 pairs MEMU  05 pairs of DEMU Originating / Terminating Trains  21 pairs of Mail/Express  36 pairs of Passenger trains Mail/Express Trains Originating/Terminating In Dhanbad Division

Sl. Train No. From To Train Name 1. 22387/22388 Dhanbad 2. 12339/12340 Dhanbad Howrah 3. 13307/13308 Dhanbad Firozpur 4. 13329/13330 Dhanbad Rajendranagar 5. 13347/13348 Palamau Express (ex.Barkakana) Barkakana Rajendranagar 6. 23347/23348 Palamau Link Express (ex.Singrauli) Singrauli Garhwa Road 7. 14369/14370 Triveni Express(Ex.Singrauli) Singrauli Bareilly 8 24369/24370 Triveni Express(Ex.Shaktinagar) Shaktinagar Bareilly 9. 84369/84370 Triveni Express(Ex.Barwadih ) Barwadih Bareilly 10. 13301/13302 Dhanbad Tatanagar 11. 13305/13306 Dhanbad Gaya Intercity Dhanbad Gaya 12. 13303/13304 Dhanbad Hatia Intercity Dhanbad Hatia 13. 13351/13352 Dhanbad-Alleppey Express Dhanbad Alappuzha 14. 13331/13332 Dhanbad Intercity Dhanbad Patna 15. 18613/18614 Chopan Hatia Express Chopan Hatia 16. 11045/11046 DeekshabhumiExp Dhanbad CSMT 17. 12831/12832 GaribrathExp Dhanbad Bhubneshwar 18. 12385/12386 Double Decker Howrah Dhanbad 19. 13345/13346 SGRL – BSB- Exp Singrauli Varanasi 20 23345/23346 SGRL-BSB Link Exp Shaktinagar Varanasi 21 11651/11652 Jabalpur- Intercity Exp. Jabalpur Singrauli Rolling Stock  Locomotives There are two loco sheds located on the Division, one Electric Shed at Gomoh and another diesel shed at Patratu. The shed-wise, type-wise loco holding is given below: Gomoh Electric Shed: Type WAG-7 WAG 9 TOTAL Number 66 125 191

Patratu Diesel Shed: Type WDG4 WDM2 WDM3A WDM2 WDG3A WDS6R TOTAL de- rated Holding 46 03 26 06 45 05 131