Bikaner State Railway
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Bikaner State Railway
|logo =
|type =
|foundation = 1924
|location_city = Bikaner
|location_country = British India
|location =
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|key_people =
|area_served = Bikaner State
|industry = Railways
|products =
|services = Rail transport
|revenue =
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|net_income =
|num_employees =
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|homepage =
|dissolved = 1952
|footnotes =
|intl =
}}
The Bikaner State Railway (BkSR) was formed in 1924 and took over responsibility for working the Bikaner section of the Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway.
History
Earlier named the Jodhpur Railway the first section opened as a metre gauge line in 1882, later becoming the Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway (JBR) in 1889. In 1908 the JBR operated {{convert|828|mi|km}} in the territories of Sind (under British control) and in territories of the States of Jodhpur and Bikaner. By 1918 the ‘JBR System’ had expanded to {{convert|1355|mi|km}}, which comprised {{convert|1106|mi|km}} plus a further {{convert|249|mi|km}} which JBR was working and operating under agreements with other railways.[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n194/mode/1up "Administration Report on Railways 1918" page185, pdf page 194]; Retrieved 18 Nov 2016 A further {{convert|210|mi|km}} were sanctioned or under construction by JBR in 1918.
In 1924, the JBR was divided into its two constituent parts, with two new systems, the Jodhpur State Railway (JSR) and Bikaner State Railway (BkSR) formed to take over responsibility for working the railway.[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n195/mode/1up "Administration Report on Railways 1918" page 187 (pdf195)]; Retrieved 18 Nov 2016 The exact mileage of BkSR comprising the "Bikaner Section" of JBR is not known but in 1918 it was {{convert|630|mi|km}}. In 1936-37 the route mileage for the BkSR had expanded to {{convert|796|mi|km}} of metre gauge lines."Report by the Railway Board on Indian Railways for 1836-37" page 119 (pdf 151) By 1943 the BkSR was operating a network of {{convert|883|mi|km}}
In 1947, the British section of the Jodhpur-Hyderabad Railway and the western portions of Jodhpur State Railway and Bikaner State Railway was ceded to the government of Pakistan becoming part of Pakistan Railways.[http://rajasthanhistory.com/gpage5.html "History of Rail in Rajasthan" by Dr Mohanlal Gupta, Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Rajasthan, Jodhpur]; Retrieved 18 Nov 2016 The remaining portions of the Jodhpur State Railway and Bikaner State Railway became part of the Northern Division of Indian Railways in 1952.
Rolling stock
In 1936, the company owned 54 locomotives, 187 coaches and 325 goods wagons.{{cite book |title=World Survey of Foreign Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA16-PA15 |year=1936 |publisher=Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.|language=English |page=220}}
Classification
It was labeled as a Class II railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.{{cite web| title=Indian Railway Classification | url=https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Indian_Railway_Classification | access-date=10 November 2022| language=en}}{{cite book |title=World Survey of Foreign Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HxHLQGfxDa0C&pg=RA16-PA15 |year=1936 |publisher=Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.|language=English |pages=220–223}} Later, it was classified as Class I.{{Cite book|title=Directory of Railway Officials & Yearbook |year=1947|publisher=Tothill Press |language=english |pages=495}}
Conversion to broad gauge
The network was converted to {{RailGauge|1676mm|lk=on}} broad gauge progressively in the 2000s and 2010s.{{cite web| url = http://www.nwr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1455176596371-An%20Overview%20of%20BKN%20division%20update%20%20Jan%202016.pdf |title = OVERVIEW OF BIKANER DIVISION |first=|last=| accessdate = 2018-04-30 }}
References
{{Class I railways according to Indian Railway Classification System}}
Category:Defunct railway companies of India
Category:Metre-gauge railways in India