Barachak railway station

Barachak is a railway station in Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. This is a railway station between Asansol and Sitarampur railway stations.

Barachak
Indian Railways station
Barachak railway station in 2020
General information
Location	Barachak, Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal India
Coordinates	23°42′25″N 86°55′43″E
Elevation	127 m
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Eastern Railway
Line(s)	Howrah–Delhi main line Asansol–Patna section Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line Grand Chord Asansol–Gaya section
Platforms	3
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Standard on ground station
Parking	Not available
Bicycle facilities	?
Other information
Status	Functioning
Station code	BCQ
Division(s)	Asansol
History
Opened	1871
Electrified	1960–61
Previous names	East Indian Railway
Location Barachak Location in West Bengal Show map of West Bengal Barachak Location in India Show map of India

v t e Railways in Asansol
Legend
via Grand Chord to Mughalsarai via Howrah–Delhi main line Radhanagar Sitarampur Chinakuri & Seetalpur colliery sidings to Andal via Barabani line planned wye connection Sodepur colliery siding Barachak IISCO Damodar Yard Asansol–Kharagpur line SAIL IISCO Steel Plant Hirapur Exchange Yard Damodar IISCO Burnpur sidings Burnpur Burnpur Airport Mohsila Asansol Freight bypass to Damodar station Kalipahari Asansol Airfield Bardhaman– Asansol section
Sources:[1][2]

The railway station

Barachak railway station is located at an elevation of 127 m above sea level. It has been allotted the railway code – BCQ and is under the jurisdiction of Asansol railway division of Eastern Railway. It has 3 platforms.^[3]

History

The East Indian Railway Company, extended the railway track that had been laid between Kolkata and Hooghly to Raniganj in 1855 and up to Asansol in July 1863.^[4] The initial route of the Howrah–Delhi main line was via what is now called the Sahibganj loop. The "shorter main line" was in position in 1871 with the completion of the Raniganj–Kiul section.^[5]

Electrification

The Asansol–Sitarampur section, including Barachak-Hirapur Exchange Yard, was electrified in 1960–61.^[6]

Mining industry

"The entire belt between Durgapur (158 km from Howrah), and all the way up to Dhanbad and beyond is industrialized. Apart from factories, there are many coalmines, some closed now, and some with fires burning deep in the mineshafts. The mining area extends for a large area, mostly to the south of the tracks. Quite a portion of the track passes through cuttings, where the surrounding area is higher than the track level, resulting in the profusion of characteristic small masonry bridges crossing the tracks." This description is from "Gomoh loco shed and CLW trip record" by Samit Roychoudhury.^[7]