Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway
| Industry | Railways |
|---|---|
| Successor | Oudh and Tirhut Railway |
| Founded | 1882 |
| Defunct | 1 January 1943 |
| Headquarters | India |
|
Area served
|
Northern India |
| Services | Rail transport |
Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (R&KR) was a metre gauge railway in India covering a total network of 592 miles (953 km). 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.
The original main line from Bhojeepura (near Bareilly) opened in 1884 and ran 54 miles (84 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.
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. 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.
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.
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