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 ;

BENGAL. more for

313

clearly than larger undertakings the benefits

their

contributions

to

the

road

which they receive

The

cess.

construction

repairs of bridges, culverts, etc., absorbs the balance of the

The

road fund.

on

outlay

District

and

District

roads in 1881-82 amounted to

Total on main and District roads, nearly three-quarters of ^^489, 701. a million sterling.

—

Railways Railway communication in Bengal has, of late years, been developed by a system of Provincial State Lines. In 1874, excluding the guaranteed (now Imperial) line of the East Indian Railway, and the guaranteed line of the Eastern Bengal Railway (both of which will be described below), there were only 55 miles of Provincial Railways open in Bengal, with a capital outlay of;^769,ooo. At the end of 1881-82, the total of these Provincial Railways was 529 miles completed and opened, at an outlay of _^4, 050,000 j 309 miles in course of construction ; 780 more miles had been surveyed, and 800 miles were further projected. The financial result to Government has proved satisfactory. In 1875, the net earnings of the Bengal Provincial Railways, less working expenses, were ^3805 ; in 1880-81 they amounted .

The

to ;^i4o,2oo.

following

is

a brief notice of each of the lines of

—

(i) The East Indian This great line runs through Bengal by two main routes. Leaving Howrah, opposite to Calcutta, the line runs north-west, till,

railway actually working or under construction:

Railway.

Bardwan,

after passing

it

divides into two branches



one known as the

loop line turning to the north, and generally following the right bank of the Ganges straight



while the second or chord line takes a comparatively

cut north-west across country,

The

Lakhisardi.

the Ganges,

till

it

till

it

rejoins the loop-line at

united line thence proceeds along the right bank ot leaves Bengal near Baxar in

enters the North-Western Provinces.

Shdhdbdd

District,

and

Total length of the East Indian

Railway and branches in Bengal, 704 miles, broad gauge. (2) Eastern Bengal Railway. This line starts from Sialdah, just outside Calcutta, and runs in a north and north-easterly direction to the bank of the Ganges or Padda at Goalanda, with a short branch from Poradah to Damukdiha, in connection with the Northern Bengal State Railway total length of line open, 172 miles, broad gauge. (3) The Northern Bengal State Railway, a metre-gauge line, running from Sfira, opposite to the Damukdiha terminus of the Eastern Bengal Railway on the other side of the river, northwards to Siliguri, at the base of the Sub-Himalayas. This line has a length of 245 miles, and is

worked to

at

a

fair


 * ^i 92,868,

profit.

and

the

In 1881-82, the gross earnings amounted working expenses to ;^96,2i8, leaving

a net profit of ^96,650, equal to an interest of 4‘6i per cent, on the capital outlay. The Darjiling Himalayan Railway con(4) tinues,

on a two-feet gauge, the railway from

Siliguri

to

Darjiling.