Silchar
Regional rail & Light rail station
Silchar Railway Station
General information
LocationStation Road, Tarapur, Silchar-788003, Barak Valley, Assam
 India
Coordinates24°49′12″N 92°48′00″E / 24.8200°N 92.8000°E / 24.8200; 92.8000
Elevation20 m (66 ft)
Owned byIndian Railways
Operated byNortheast Frontier Railway zone
Line(s)Silchar–Sabroom section
Platforms3[1]
Tracks9
ConnectionsBus, Auto rickshaw, E–Rickshaw
Construction
Structure typeStandard on Ground
ParkingParking Available
Bicycle facilitiesBicycle facilities Available
AccessibleDisabled access Yes
Other information
StatusFunctioning
Station codeSCL
Zone(s) Northeast Frontier Railway zone
Division(s) Lumding
History
Opened1898
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesAssam Bengal Railway
Services
Waiting RoomFood & DrinkFood PlazaLiftsCCTVRailwire Free WifiRetiring Rooms
Location
Silchar railway station is located in Assam
Silchar railway station
Silchar railway station
Location in Assam
Silchar railway station is located in India
Silchar railway station
Silchar railway station
Silchar railway station (India)

Silchar railway station [2] is a railway station situated at Tarapur, Silchar in Assam. The railway station falls under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The railway gauge functioned here is broad gauge.[3] The station consists of single diesel line[1]". It is one of the oldest railway station in India built under Assam Bengal Railway.[4] The station has three platforms with a total of 14 originating trains.[5] It serves Silchar, as well as the whole Barak Valley. Trains operate to different cities of India from Silchar including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kanpur, Patna, Prayagraj, Hyderabad , Coimbatore, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram & Agartala. As of now, 170 stations across India are directly connected to Silchar railway station.

History

The Station was first inaugurated in 1898 under Assam Bengal Railway. Assam Bengal Railway was incorporated in 1892 to serve British-owned tea plantations in Assam. Assam Bengal Railway had III sections & Silchar railway station come under Section I named as Comilla–Akhaura–Kulaura–Badarpur section opened in 1896–1898 and finally extended to Lumding in 1903.[6]

Significance

Language Martyr's Memorial at Silchar railway station

Silchar railway station was the location of one of the uprisings in support of the Bengali language. When the Assam government, under Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha, passed a circular to make Assamese mandatory, Bengalis of Barak Valley protested. On 19 May 1961, Assam police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators at Silchar railway station. Eleven protesters were killed.

After the popular revolt, the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley.[7][8]

Every year, 19 May is celebrated as Bhasha Shahid Divas to commemorate the incident.

Amenities

The station contains three platforms serving several passengers. It contains retiring rooms or passenger waiting rooms with proper sanitation facilities.[9] The Station is upgraded with reservation facilities through ticket counters in the year 1995.[10] It is also upgraded with RailTel free WiFi facilities.[11] The station is also upgraded with a Digital Museum Video Wall on the entrance of the station that will showcase the rich heritage of Indian Railways and other information related to rail travellers[12][13]

Incidents

On 19 May 1961, during the Bengali Language Movement of Barak Valley,[14] Assam Police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators at Silchar railway station in which 11 protesters were killed.[15] After which Bengali language was ultimately given official status in Barak Valley[16]

On 9 June 2019, three coaches of Silchar–Trivandram Express caught fire in the early hours of Sunday, while it was stationed at Silchar railway station. No casualties recorded later[17]

Security

In 2020, High definition CCTV cameras were installed at platforms, circulating and waiting areas of Silchar railway station by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) under ISS (integrated security system) to ensure round-the-clock security to passengers, especially women[18]

Major trains

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Silchar railway station overview". Travel Khana. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "Centre nod to renaming Silchar station after language martyrs". Times of India. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "After a two-decade wait, Assam's Barak Valley finally gets broad-gauge rail connectivity". Business Standard. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Silchar station to be shifted". The Telegraph. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "Scl railway station overview". NDTV. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "[IRFCA] Indian Railway History – Assam Railways and Trading Company". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "No alliance with BJP, says AGP chief". The Telegraph, Calcutta. 27 December 2003. Archived from the original on 29 September 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Silchar rly station to be renamed soon". The Times of India. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Retiring Room Accommodation Rules". nfr.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "Welcome to North East Frontier Railway / Indian Railways Portal". PRS functioning in various districts under the jurisdiction of North East Frontier Railway. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "PROVISION OF WI-FI AT STATIONS". nfr.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Kushal Deb Roy (31 October 2019). "GM Sanjive Roy, Silchar MP inaugurate digital museum video wall at silchar station". Barak Bulletin. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "NF Railway launches digital museum in 22 stations". Northeast Now. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  14. ↑ Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty (8 July 2017). "In Language Movements of West Bengal and Assam, a Parallel in Governments Responses". The Wire. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Assam Government will pay tribute to 11 martyrs of 1961 Bhasha Andalan". Barak Bulletin. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  16. ↑ Rupali Pruthi (10 September 2014). "Assam government withdrew Assamese as official language from Barak Valley". Jagran Josh. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  17. ↑ "3 coaches of Silchar–Trivandrum Express gutted in fire". India Today. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  18. ↑ Satananda Bhattacharjee (9 January 2020). "CCTV camera in 28 Northeast stations". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
External videos
video icon Train arriving at Silchar railway station on YouTube, N F Railway, 2019
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