Amritsar–Pathankot line

The Amritsar–Pathankot line is a railway line connecting Amritsar and Pathankot Junction both in the Indian state of Punjab. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway.

Amritsar–Pathankot Line (including Dera Baba Nanak branch line)
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Punjab
Termini	Amritsar Pathankot Junction
Service
System	Electrified
Operator(s)	Northern Railway
History
Opened	1884
Technical
Track length	108.9 km (68 mi)
Number of tracks	1 (Single line)
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	2018
Highest elevation	Amritsar 236 m (774 ft), Pathankot Junction 352 m (1,155 ft)
Route map Legend km to Kangra Valley Railway (narrow gauge) 107 Pathankot Junction to Jalandhar–Jammu line Pathankot Cantonment 104 Bharoli Junction to Jalandhar–Jammu line 100 Sarna 95 Jakolari NH 54 88 Parma Nand 83 Dina Nagar 72 Gurdaspur State Highway 25 NH 54 66 Jhawar 62 Sohal 58 Dhariwal NH 54 51 Chhina Rail link to Qadian Dera Baba Nanak Road 39 Batala 29 Jaintipura 19 Kathunangal 54 Dera Baba Nanak NH 354 48 Rattar Chattar 42 Ramdas 37 Hardorwal 31 Fatehgarh Churian 26 Kotla Gujran 19 Majitha 8 Verka NH 54 NH 3 to Ambala–Attari line 0 Amritsar to Amritsar–Khem Karan line to Attari

History

The 108.9 km (68 mi)-long 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)-wide 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge Amritsar–Pathankot line was opened in 1884.^[1] It originally belonged to the local government and was transferred to North Western Railway in 1892.^[2] The Amritsar–Dera Baba Nanak branch line serves the western part of Batala tehsil. Prior to the partition of India in 1947, this line was 225.9 km (140 mi) long and was linked to Sialkot (now in Pakistan), but after partition Dera Baba Nanak became the terminus. The Batala–Qadian link serves the eastern part of Batala tehsil.^[1] The 225.9 km (140 mi) long Amritsar–Sialkot line ran thus: Amritsar–Dera Baba Nanak–Narowal–Sialkot, crossing the 1.024 km (1 mi) long Ravi River Bridge.^[3]

As of 2013, the Lahore–Narowal–Sialkot railway line passes near the India–Pakistan border through the western outskirts of Narowal, just opposite Dera Baba Nanak, before turning north-westwards to Pasrur and Sialkot.^[4]

During the 2015 Gurdaspur attack, disaster was averted on this line as a railway lineman, Ashwani Saini, noticed a bomb on the track and alerted the authorities before the next train arrived. He also ran down the line waving a red flag to alert the driver of the next train to stop. The train that was due to traverse this track, with more than 270 people on board, stopped only a hundred yards from the bomb.^[5]

Importance

This line is strategically very important. It connects three border districts of Punjab with each other namely Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. This lines provides a diversion or substitute route to Jalandhar–Jammu line. Whenever this track gets interrupted either due to any protest or a technical/mechanical work, then most of the trains get diverted via Amritsar–Gurdaspur to Pathankot and further to Jammu and vice versa. This line can also play a strategic role and help military movement in war conditions. The important stations on this line are Amritsar, Batala, Gurdaspur & Pathankot. Other landmark stoppages are Verka, Dhariwal and Dinanagar.

Railway workshop

Amritsar railway workshop carries out periodic overhaul of WDS-4 locos and breakdown cranes and bogie manufacture.^[6]

Passenger movement

Amritsar is the only station on this line which is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.^[7]

Railway reorganisation

Sind Railway (later reorganised as Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway) was formed a guaranteed railway in 1856. It constructed broad-gauge railways from Delhi to Multan via Lahore, and from Karachi to Kotri. Multan and Kotri were connected by ferry service on the Indus River. In 1871–72, Indus Valley Railway was formed to connect Multan and Kotri. At the same time, Punjab Northern State Railway started constructing from Lahore towards Peshawar. In 1886, Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway was acquired by the state and amalgamated with Indus Valley Railway and Punjab Northern State Railway to form North Western State Railway.^[8]

With the partition of India in 1947, North Western Railway was split. While the western portion became Pakistan West Railway, and later Pakistan Railways, the eastern part became Eastern Punjab Railway.^[9] In 1952, Northern Railway was formed with a portion of East Indian Railway Company west of Mughalsarai, Jodhpur Railway, Bikaner Railway and Eastern Punjab Railway.^[10]