Bilaspur–Nagpur section
The Bilaspur–Nagpur section is part of the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line and connects Bilaspur in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and Nagpur in Maharashtra. Part of one of the major trunk lines in the country, it passes through a forested plateau region interspersed with fertile valleys.
History
The first train in India travelled from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853. By May 1854, Great Indian Peninsula Railway's Bombay–Thane line was extended to Kalyan. Bhusawal station was set up in 1860 and in 1867 the GIPR branch line was extended to Nagpur. The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway started construction of the metre gauge Nagpur–Rajnandgaon section in 1878, after surveys were started in 1871. The Nagpur–Tumsar Road section was opened in April 1880 and the Tumsar Road–Rajnandgaon section in December 1880.The Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line, a joint effort of Great Indian Peninsula Railway and East Indian Railway Company came up in 1870. The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah–Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad. The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol, on the Howrah–Delhi main line, was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891.
A narrow-gauge branch line was constructed from Raipur to Dhamtari, and from Abhanpur another branch line goes to Rajim. It was opened in 1900. The Gondia–Nagbhir–Nagpur line was opened for traffic in 1908. The Nagbhir–Rajoli line was opened in 1913 and extended up to Chanda. The Bhilai–Dalli Rajhara line mainly for iron ore transportation was opened in 1958. Bhilai Steel Plant was opened in 1959.
The Bengal Nagpur Railway was nationalized in 1944.Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1955, [South Eastern Railway zone|Eastern Railway zone|South Eastern Railway] was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier. Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway. Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway.
Gauge conversion
Work for conversion to broad gauge of the narrow-gauge Gondia–Chanda Fort line started in December 1992, Gondia–Wadsa section was inaugurated on 25 September 1994. Wadsa–Nagbhir section was opened on 20 February 1997, Nagbhir–Chanda Fort section was opened on 13 January 1999 and the Chanda Fort–Ballarshah section was operated from 2 July 1999.The Gondia–Balaghat broad-gauge section was opened for traffic on 6 September 2005. The Balaghat–Katangi section was converted to broad gauge in 2010.
The gauge conversions are under process for -long Nagpur–Chhindwara section, the -long Jabalpur–Nainpur section, the -long Chhindwara–Nainpur–Mandla section, the Nainpur–Balaghat section and -long Nagpur–Nagbhir section.