3-Northeast Frontier Railway
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Locale | Assam, Nagaland, West Bengal, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh Meghalaya, Mizoram and Bihar |
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Dates of operation | January 15, 1958 | –
Predecessor | North Eastern Railway |
Headquarters | Maligaon, Guwahati |
Website | www |
The Northeast Frontier Railway abbreviated as N.F. Railway, is one of the 17 railway zones in India. Headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, it is responsible for rail operations in the entire Northeast and parts of West Bengal and Bihar.
Northeast Frontier Railway is divided into 6 divisions:
Each of these divisions is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager, a Senior Administrative Grade officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India.
The departmental setup at headquarters level and divisional setup in the field assists the General Manager in running the railways. Various departments namely engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecom, operations, commercial, safety, accounts, security, personal and medical are headed by a Senior Administrative Grade / Higher Administrative Grade officer, provide technical and operational support to the divisions in train operations.
In 1881, railway first came to Assam when Assam Railway and Trading Company set up metre gauge track. The 65-km-long metre gauge line from Dibrugarh to Margherita was constructed mainly for transportation of tea and coal. This company later started the first passenger train in Assam by the name of Dibru Sadiya Railway. The North Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating two railway systems: the Assam Railway and Oudh and Tirhut Railway. Later, it was bifurcated into two railway zones on 15 January 1958, the North Eastern Railway (India) and the Northeast Frontier Railway. to better serve the needs of the northeastern states. Railway service was established in Tripura in 1964, but it was limited to Dharmanagar and Kailasahar. The northeastern state capital came on India's rail map with the advent of the railways in the subcontinent in 1853 and the foundation stone of the 119 km Kumarghat–Agartala railway project was laid in 1996 by the former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. Following which railways were built in Agartala the capital city of Tripura after slightly more than a decade as passengers became more predominant in the region and railways were a mark of success in the state. Agartala expects better and faster trains in the upcoming coming decade.