NFR Opens Rangapani-Bagdogra Line to Freight Traffic

The Northeast Frontier Railway has commissioned the long-idle 6.8-km Rangapani-Bagdogra siding line under its Katihar division for regular freight operations, a low-cost intervention that removes a long-standing choke point in the rail supply chain serving North Bengal and the Northeast. The line sits in the Siliguri region, the narrow strip of Darjeeling district widely known as the Chicken’s Neck — a corridor whose bottlenecks ripple through cargo movement for the entire north-eastern region.

The immediate gain is the end of a time-consuming manoeuvre. Trains arriving from East Central Railway and entering the NFR network at Forbesganj previously had to reverse direction at Siliguri Junction before proceeding. That is no longer required, with loaded rakes now routed onward through Bagdogra.

A locomotive reversal is not a simple turn. It involves detaching the engine from one end of the rake, moving it to the other, conducting a brake power test, carrying out shunting and arranging a fresh crew. Railway sources put the process at roughly 45 minutes to an hour per train, during which the rake sits idle while fuel or electricity is consumed.

Doing away with that cycle delivers three savings at once: energy, rolling stock detention and manpower. Fewer shunting staff and additional crews are needed, and each rake returns to revenue service sooner.

This story was originally published by Maritime Gateway. Read the full story at Maritime Gateway →