PRAYAGRAJ DIVISION : A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The contract for setting up of the East Indian Railway was executed on 17.8.1849. It took 6 years of hard work for opening the first 120 miles of track out of Calcutta for a through line between Calcutta and Delhi.
On 4.2.1855, during the period of Lord Dalhousie, the first train started from Howrah station, which ran 125 miles to the coal fields of Rani gang on the new track of 56gauge
urther construction work of the Railway line suffered a setback due tothe Outbreak of the war of Independence in 1857. The work was restarted on 27.11.1857 and the line up to Kanpur was commissioned in August 1858. It was during the period of Lord Canning, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, that the East Indian Railway was successful in running the first train from Prayagraj to Kanpur on 3.3.1859.
Kanpur city was connected by Rail to Lucknow in 1875and to Jhansi in1886. In April 1879, construction of Burhwal-Kanpur Meter gauge link was established and by 1909 B.B.C.I. entered Kanpur, thus making the present Prayagraj Division an important link on the North-South and East-West routes.
Today Prayagraj Division forms the spinal cord of Indian Railways connecting the coal - steel belt of the Eastern region to the consuming areas. Having a total route length of 1070 kms, it encompasses Southern part of Uttar Pradesh and covers 21 districts.
PRAYAGRAJ DIVISION-AT A GLANCE
Route Main Line Branch Line | 754.8 Km 441.15 Km |
Route KM | 1208.944 Km |
Track KM | 2619.049 Km |
Traffic carried per annum | 4302.57 KM ETKM |
Charted capacity each way (with maintenance blocks ) | DDU-PRYJ | 81 |
PRYJ-CNB | 70 |
CNB-TDL | 81 |
TDL-GZB | 83 |
Capacity utilisation ( as% age of charted capacity) (with maintenance blocks ) | DDU-PRYJ | 137.46 |
PRYJ-CNB | 145.68 |
CNB-TDL | 140.86 |
TDL-GZB | 110.83 |
Average No of Mail / Exp. / Pass. trains per day | 344 Nos. |
Average No. of Goods trains Per day | 402.0 Nos. |
No. of stations | 151 Nos. |
Average No. of Passengers booked per day | 1.43 lacs |
TOTAL STAFF | 28545 |
TOTAL OFFICERS | 148 |
TOURIST SPOTS AND VISITING PLACES IN PRAYAGRAJ DIVISION
1. | Prayagraj City | The main attractions are SANGAM, ANANAD BHAWAN, SWARAJ BHAWAN, CHANDRASHEKARAZADGARDEN, FORT, AKSHAY VAT, HANUMANTEMPLE and SARASWATI GHAT. In addition it is mainly famous for MAHA KUMBH which is held every 12 years in which crores of people visit this city. |
2. | KalyaniDeviTemple | This is 100 years old temple of religious importance. |
3. | Shringverpur | It is situated 40 Kms. Towards Lucknow from PRAYAGRAJ. This is famous as lord Rama stayed there along with Sita and Lakshmana. |
4. | Kaushambi | This is a place located 25 Kms. From Prayagraj which is of great archeological importance as it belongs to the time of Gautam Budha. |
5. | Aligarh | This is an old city of western UP which is famous for higher education and its lock industry. |
6. | Kanpur | This city is 5th largest city of India in terms of area and 7th in terms of population in India. Daily 60 to 75 lakh passengers come and go via this station. This is famous for its leather, cotton and artillery based industry. |
7. | J.K.Temple | This is a state of art, beautifully built temple located in the heart of KanpurCity. |
8. | Bithoor | This is situated at 25 Kms. Near river Ganges around Kanpur. This is of great relious importance where Ramayana was composed. |
9. | Mirzapur | This city is famous for its Carpet Industry. |
10. | Vindhyanchal | Here famous temple of Maa Durga which is well lit and populated during Navratra festival. |
11. | Chunar | This is famous for its natural beauty, waterfalls and old fort built by King Vikramaditya. Moreover there is a famous cement factory located here. |
12. | Ferozabad | This is situated between Kanpur and Tundla and this world famous for Bangle and glass factory. |
13. | Hathras | This is a historical city famous for its contribution during freedom struggle. |
