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.
