The BhusawalâÂÂKalyan section is part of the HowrahâÂÂNagpurâÂÂMumbai line and HowrahâÂÂPrayagrajâÂÂMumbai line. It connects Bhusawal and Kalyan both in the Indian state of Maharashtra. One of the branch lines, JalgaonâÂÂSurat line, runs partly in Gujarat.
Part of some of the major trunk lines in the country, this line passes through a section of the Deccan Plateau, starting with Khandesh, It crosses the Western Ghats across the Thul Ghat and enters the Western Coastal Plains.
Thul Ghat (incline) is a series of mountain slopes in the Western Ghats traversed by this line. From Kalyan to Kasara, the line covers a length of and rises to an altitude of above sea level at Kasara. The next section from Kasara to Igatpuri is across Thul Ghat and within that distance the line rises from to the gradient in the section being 1:37. The line negotiates this steep incline with the help of curves. The Ehegaon viaduct along this line is long and high. According to IRFCA, "The viaduct is situated in a steep valley nestling in the midst of hills that skirt around it in the tunnels and then is carried across the yawning chasm on a tall imposing structure⦠Some of the viaducts and tunnels on this line are considered outstanding achievements in Civil Engineering and are among the finest works in the world."
This line serves two coal-based thermal power stations: the 880 MW Nashik Thermal Power Station of Mahagenco and 850 MW Ukai Thermal Power Station of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited. Nasik TPS consumed 4,626,000 tonnes of coal in 2006âÂÂ07 and Ukai TPS consumed 3,200,000 tonnes the same year. Coal transportation forms 42 per cent of the total freight earnings of Indian railways.
The first train in India traveled from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in Mumbai, then known as Boribunder, to Thane on 16 April 1853. Within about a year Great Indian Peninsula Railway connected the MumbaiâÂÂThane line to Kalyan. Service up to Igatpuri (across the Thul Ghat) was started in 1865. Before that, Bhusawal station was set up in 1860 and most of the line between Bhusawal and Igatpuri was laid in 1861-62 but the line was activated in mid-1860s, after completion of the line across Thul Ghat.
The Tapti Valley Railway linked Surat, on the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, to the Great Indian Peninsula system at Amalner in the Khandesh region, in 1900. It was one of the railways set up by Killick Nixon Limited.
The ManmadâÂÂDaund line was opened in 1878 and connects the two main sections (the south-east and north east) of GIPR. The line is being doubled.
The HyderabadâÂÂGodavari Valley Railways opened the ManmadâÂÂSecunderabad line (not shown in the route chart) in 1900.
The ChalisgaonâÂÂDhule line was opened in 1900.
The PachoraâÂÂJamner narrow-gauge line was opened by Central Province Railway in 1919.
The -long -wide broad-gauge Puntamba-Shirdi link, connecting Shirdi to the ManmadâÂÂDaund branch line was completed in 2009. The ManmadâÂÂPuntambaâÂÂSainagar Shirdi line was electrified in 2011âÂÂ12.
Indian Railways have cleared the construction of ManmadâÂÂIndore and NashikâÂÂPune new lines after sixteen years of active lobbying.
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was taken over by the state in 1925. In 1951, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway, the Scindia State Railways and the Dholpur Railways were merged to form Central Railway. In the same year, the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, the Saurashtra Railway, the Rajasthan Railway, the Jaipur Railway and the Cutch State Railway were merged to form Western Railway.
The KalyanâÂÂIgatpuri section was electrified with 1.5 kV DC overhead system in 1929. Subsequent electrification with 25 kV AC overhead system in the IgatpuriâÂÂManmad sector, with AC/DC change over at Igatpuri, was carried out in 1967âÂÂ69. The ManmadâÂÂBhusawal sector was electrified in 1968âÂÂ69. The change over of mainlines in the Mumbai area from DC to AC traction was completed in June 2015.
There are large loco sheds at Bhusawal and Kalyan, and the smaller trip sheds at Manmad and Igatpuri. The loco shed at Bhusawal was established by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway in 1919. At that time it was the largest in Asia and third-largest in the world. WAM-4, WAP- 4, WAG-5, WAG-7, WCM-6, WCG-2, WCAM-3 and WCAG-1 electric locomotives find a place in these sheds. Kalyan also houses some diesel locomotives.
The entire HowrahâÂÂNagpurâÂÂMumbai line is planned to be converted into a "Group A" line, which would enable it take speeds up to 160 km/h. The branch lines have speed limits within 100 km/h.
Bhusawal and Manmad on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.
The tourist train Deccan Odyssey passes through a part of the route.