Fatuha–Tilaiya line

This article is about the broad-gauge line. For the narrow-gauge railway, see Futwah–Islampur Light Railway.

The Fatuha–Tilaiya line is a railway line connecting Fatuha on the Howrah–Delhi main line and Tilaiya on the Gaya–Kiul line both in the Indian state of Bihar. The line was earlier known as Fatuha–Islampur line. A small portion of the line from Islampur to Natesar opened for use in 2020.

Fatuha–Tilaiya line
Fatuha Junction, the starting point of Fatuha–Tilaiya line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Termini	Fatuha Tilaiya
Service
Operator(s)	East Central Railway
History
Opened	2003
Technical
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Route map Legend km on Asansol–Patna section of Howrah–Delhi main line 0 Fatuha 3 Gokulnagar NH 31 4 Machriawan 6 Naika Road Mahatmain River 8 Daniyawan Bazar (Halt) NH 431 State Highway 78 Neora-Sheikhpura line to Neora 9 Daniyawan Neora-Sheikhpura line to Sheikhpura 11 Singriyawan 14 Diywan 17 Lohanda 19 Kamta (Halt) State Highway 4 21 Hilsa State Highway 4 26 Junair State Highway 4 30 Ram Bhawan State Highway 4 NH 33 33 Ekangarsarai 35 Aungaridham 37 Khurrampur 43 Islampur State Highway 71 Khudaganj Harsingara Katari Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line to Bakhtiyarpur 64 Natesar 71 Jethian 75 Sarsoo Dhadhar River 83 Oro Jagdishpur 87 Mohamadpur 89 Hisua NH 120 Gaya–Kiul line to Kiul 93 Tilaiya Gaya–Kiul line to Gaya 100 Narhat 108 Laundh 116 Kheraundh to Koderma (under construction)

History

Futwah–Islampur Light Railway was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm)-wide narrow-gauge railway laid by Martin's Light Railways in 1922.^[1][2] Nearly 14 km of the 42 km (26 mi)-long Fatuha–Islampur railway line was washed away by floods 1976. As a result, no train plied on the route for many years. In 1982, Martin's Light Railways initiated resumption of train service on this line and took up restoration work. However, in 1984, they decided to close down permanently.^[3][4]

It was nationalised and taken over by Indian Railways in 1986.^[2][3] Nitish Kumar, then the railway minister laid the foundation stone for the new 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) railway line in 1998. This section has about 144 bridges and 36 level crossings. Hilsa will be the crossing station of this single line section. It was inaugurated in 2003 by Nitish Kumar.^[3][4][5]

The East Central Railway took up the laying of new lines in the 46 km (29 mi)-long Rajgir–Hisua-Tilaiya–Nateswar–Islampur sector and as of 2013 the work was in an advanced stage. Construction of the 68 km (42 mi) Tilaiya sector has also been taken up.^[6] The new electrified section of Islampur to Natesar was opened in 2020.

Electrification

Feasibility studies for the electrification of the Manpur–Tilaiya–Kiul sector and Fatwa–Islampur–Bakhtiyarpur–Rajgir sectors were announced in the rail budget for 2010–11.^[7] The Fatuha Islampur line was electrified in 2019 while Islampur Natesar electrified section opened in 2020.