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Metre gauge railway in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (R&KR) was a metre gauge railway in India covering a total network of 592 miles (953 km).[1] It was owned and worked by the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Company (registered 6 October 1882). The Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway was transferred to the Government of India and merged into the Oudh and Tirhut Railway on 1 January 1943.
Industry | Railways |
---|---|
Founded | 1882 |
Defunct | 1 January 1943 |
Successor | Oudh and Tirhut Railway |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Northern India |
Services | Rail transport |
The company was founded in 1883 by the Scottish railway engineer Alexander Izat who was also the Company Director until 1904.[2]
The original main line from Bhojeepura (near Bareilly) opened in 1884 and ran 54 miles (87 km) in a north-westerly direction to Kathgodam. The railway was progressively extended, and by 1912 its network covered 256 miles (412 km). It also worked the 296 miles (476 km) long Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway.[1]
The R&KR was company owned and worked from formation in 1882. In 1883 Alexander Izat was appointed Director. Prior to this he was employed by the Railway Branch - Public Works Department (PWD) where he had served in various parts of India and was instrumental in initiating and carrying out many metre-gauge extensions.[3] He represented R&KR at the Indian Railway Conference Association and remained as Director, until his retirement in 1904. In 1918 he is recorded as being R&KR Chairman with headquarters in London.[4]
The R&KR remained a private company until nationalisation in 1943, when it was amalgamated with the Bengal and North-Western Railway (B&NWR), with which it had been closely associated, and the Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway, to form the Oudh and Tirhut Railway (O&TR). In turn, in 1952, the Oudh and Tirhut Railway became part of 'North Eastern Railway', a zone of Indian Railways.
The R&KR had working agreements with both the metre gauge Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway and the narrow gauge Powayan Light Railway. The three railways used shared facilities but retained separate identities.
In 1936, the company owned 76 locomotives, 230 coaches and 2845 goods wagons.[6]
It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.[7][8]
The railway lines were converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge starting from 1990s to 2010s.[citation needed]
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