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{{short description|Indian railway route}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width = 28em
| name = Grand Chord
| color = 
| logo = <!-- Do NOT place a non-free image here without complying with WP:NFCC #10c -->
| logo_width = 100 px
| image = Dbd.jpg
| image_width = 
| caption = Dhanbad Junction, An Important Railway Station On Grand Chord Line
| type = 
| system = 
| status = Operational
| locale = [[West Bengal]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Bihar]], and [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| start = [[Sitarampur]]
| end = {{rws|Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction}}
| stations = 
| routes = 
| daily_ridership = 
| open = 1900
| close = 
| owner = [[Indian Railways]]
| operator = [[Eastern Railway zone|Eastern Railway]], [[East Central Railway zone|East Central Railway]]
| character = 
| depot = 
| stock = 
| linelength = {{convert|450.7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
| tracklength = 
| tracks = 2/3
| gauge = {{Track gauge|5ft6in|lk=on}} [[broad gauge]]
| old_gauge = 
| minradius = 
| racksystem = 
| electrification = Electrified
| speed = up to {{convert|180|km/h|abbr=on}}
| elevation = 
| website = 
| map = {{Grand Chord}}
| map_state = collapsed
}}
'''Grand Chord''' is part of the [[Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line]] and [[Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line]]. It acts as a link between [[Sitarampur railway station|Sitarampur]] ([[West Bengal]]) and [[Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction]] ([[Uttar Pradesh]]), previously known as Mughalsarai Junction, and covers a stretch of {{convert|450.7|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Hindu0612">{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2006/12/04/stories/2006120400210600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101002050338/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2006/12/04/stories/2006120400210600.htm |archive-date=2 Oct 2010 |title=The Grand 'old' Chord | website=The Hindu| date=4 December 2006}}</ref> The [[Coal India Corridor]] line that branches off from [[Dhanbad Junction]] and rejoins the Grand Chord at [[Son Nagar Junction]] is another major coal loading hub. It is a fully electrified, quadruple line section from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay to Son Nagar and double line section from Son Nagar to Sitarampur. There are plans to triple the lines from Son Nagar to Dhanbad to accommodate the increasing traffic. . The entire line lies under the jurisdiction of three divisions, [[Mughalsarai railway division]], [[Dhanbad railway division]] and [[Asansol railway division]]. The Grand chord section is the lifeline of the country, 2nd busiest railway section of India after [[Ghaziabad Junction railway station|Ghaziabad]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] to [[Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction railway station|Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] (previously known as Mughalsarai Junction) Main Line section, on which coal, steel and other important goods are moved from Eastern section to Western and Northern sections of the country. In the down direction, the traffic consists of mostly food grains, fertilizers and empty wagons for coal loading in the Jharkhand and West Bengal coal fields. [[Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction]] is a transit division and the main objective is to maintain mobility of high density traffic. The present capacity of the Grand Chord is being optimally utilized. Traversing through [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] of [[Jharkhand]] as well as parts of the fertile [[Gangetic plains]] of [[Bihar]], the Grand Chord covers a stretch of {{convert|450.7|km|abbr=on}}. The Grand Chord is renowned for its remarkable controlling of passenger traffic, despite being burdened with freight traffic.

The railways first came to eastern India in 1854, and the [[Kolkata|Calcutta]]–[[Delhi]] railway link, with a distance of more than {{convert|1642|km|abbr=on}}, became operational by 1866. With the increase in traffic it became necessary to construct an alternative route.

With this in view, the Grand Chord section was planned. The Grand Chord section was opened in December 1906 by [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]], then [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]] with a function at Gujahandi.<ref name="Hindu0612"/> With the opening of the Grand Chord route, the distance between [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] and [[Delhi]] was reduced by {{convert|192|km|abbr=on}}. The cost of construction was around {{INRConvert|415|l|year=1906}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061207/asp/jharkhand/story_7104699.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109011754/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061207/asp/jharkhand/story_7104699.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 January 2011 |title=Grand rerun of Raj rail route - Railways enact Lord Minto's flag-off at Gujhandi to celebrate 100 years of Dhanbad-Gaya chord line | website=The Telegraph|location=Kolkata |date=7 December 2006}}</ref>

The Grand Chord section is critically important even today, handling major passenger trains on the Howrah–Delhi route, particularly all the [[Rajdhani Express]]es from [[Howrah]], [[Bhubaneswar]] and [[Ranchi]] and the entire freight traffic, particularly coal, handled by the Dhanbad division of East Central Railway.

==Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor==
The [[Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor]] (Eastern DFC) encompasses a double-line electrified traction corridor from [[Haldia]] on the [[Eastern Railway zone|Eastern Railway]] to [[Khurja]] on the [[North Central Railway]] ({{convert|1270|km|abbr=on|disp=or}}) via Grand Chord, Khurja to [[Dadri]] on NCR double-line electrified corridor ({{convert|46|km|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and Single electrified line from Khurja to [[Ludhiana]] ({{convert|412|km|abbr=on|disp=or}}) on [[Northern Railway zone|Northern Railway]]. The total length works out to {{convert|1379|km|abbr=on}}. So in the Grand Chord section its total 4 parallel track will be run to ease traffic movement on this busy route.

The EDFC will traverse 6 states and is projected to cater to a number of traffic streams – coal for the power plants in the northern region of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Punjab]] and parts of [[Rajasthan]] from the Eastern coal fields, finished steel, food grains, cement, fertilizers, limestone from Rajasthan to steel plants in the east and general goods. The total traffic in UP direction is projected to go up from 38 million tonnes in [[Fiscal year|FY]]2005-06 to 116 million tonnes in FY2021–22.

==Trains on the route==
In {{circa|1970}}, it was said that a goods train passes by every 20 minutes on the Grand Chord line. Now, the frequency has become around 5 minutes making it one of the busiest routes in India. More than 50 mail and express trains use this shorter route apart from 2 dozens of passenger trains.

=== Some important trains on the route ===
# [[Howrah Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Gaya, India|Gaya]])
# [[Sealdah Rajdhani Express]]
# [[Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Bokaro Steel City|Bokaro]], [[Tatanagar]])
# [[Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Adra, Purulia|Adra]])
# [[Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Sambalpur]])
# [[Ranchi Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Bokaro Steel City|Bokaro]], [[Gaya, India|Gaya]])
# [[Ranchi Rajdhani Express]] (via [[Daltonganj]])
# [[Howrah–Ranchi Shatabdi Express]] (via [[Bokaro Steel City|Bokaro]], [[Dhanbad]])
# [[Howrah–New Delhi Duronto Express]]
# [[Bhubaneswar–Duronto Express]]
# [[Sealdah–Bikaner Duronto Express]]
# [[Patna–Ranchi Vande Bharat Express]]
# [[Ranchi–Varanasi Vande Bharat Express]]
# [[Tatanagar–Patna Vande Bharat Express]]
# [[Howrah–Gaya Vande Bharat Express]]
# [[Sealdah-Jammu Tawi Humsafar Express]]
# [[Godda-New Delhi Humsafar Express]]
# [[Ranchi–New Delhi Garib Rath Express]]
# [[Howrah–Anand Vihar Yuva Express]]
# [[West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express]]
# [[Odisha Sampark Kranti Express]]
# [[Jharkhand Sampark Kranti Express]]
# [[Gaya–Anand Vihar Garib Rath Express]]
# [[Howrah–Gwalior Chambal Express]]
# [[Howrah–Jodhpur Express]]
# [[Ajmer–Sealdah Express]]
# [[Kalka Mail]] – The oldest running passenger train of India
# [[Poorva Express (via Gaya)]]
# [[Garbha Express]]
# [[Howrah–Jaisalmer Superfast Express]]
# [[Purushottam Express]]
# [[Ara–Ranchi Express]]
# [[Parasnath Express]]
# Howrah–Gwalior [[Chambal Express]]
# Howrah–Agra Cantt/Mathura [[Chambal Express]]
# Howrah–Indore Junction [[Shipra Express]]
# [[Jharkhand Swarna Jayanti Express]] (via Bokaro)
# [[Mahabodhi Express]]
# [[Deekshabhoomi Express]]
# [[Gaya–Chennai Egmore Weekly Superfast Express]]
# [[Howrah–Bhopal Weekly Express]]
# [[Doon Express]]
# [[Neelachal Express]] (Via. Bokaro)
# [[Nandan Kanan Express|Nandankanan Express]] (Via. Adra)
# [[Patna–Hatia Express]]
# [[Shalimar (Howrah) Express]]
# [[Pratap Express]]
# [[Black Diamond Express]]
# [[Coalfield Express]]
# [[Patna–Ranchi Jan Shatabdi Express|Patna - Ranchi Janshatabdi Express]]
# [[Kosi Express|Purnia Court - Hatia Kosi Express]]
# [[Sealdah]]–[[Amritsar]] [[Jallianwalla Bagh Express]]
# [[Tatanagar]]–[[Amritsar]] [[Jallianwalla Bagh Express]]		
# [[Kolkata Mail]] via [[Allahabad]]
# [[Ganga Damodar Express]]
# [[Ganga Sutlej Express]]
# [[Kishanganj–Ajmer Garib Nawaz Express]]
# [[Howrah–Ranchi Intercity Express]] via [[Adra, Purulia|Adra]]
# [[Dhanbad–Patna Intercity Express]]
# [[Dhanbad–Gaya Intercity Express]]
# [[Patna–Bhabua Road Intercity Express]]
# [[Howrah–Ranchi Intercity Express]]  via [[Tatanagar]]
# [[Ranchi–Varanasi Express]]
# [[Ranchi–Kamakhya Express]]
# [[Shaktipunj Express]]
# [[Haldia–Anand Vihar Terminal Superfast Express]]
# [[Bhubaneswar–Anand Vihar Weekly Superfast Express]] via [[Sambalpur]], [[Rourkela]], [[Bokaro Steel City|Bokaro]]
# [[Shabd Bhedi Superfast Express]]
# [[Howrah–Lalkuan Express]]
# [[Durgiana Express]]
# [[Kolkata–Agra Cantonment Express]]
# [[Kolkata–Agra Cantonment Superfast Express]]
# [[Santragachi–Anand Vihar Superfast Express]]
# [[Jasidih–Pune weekly Express]]
# [[Shalimar-Gorakhpur Weekly Express]]
# [[Gaya-Lucknow Ekatmata Express]]
# [[Jasidih–Vasco-Da-Gama weekly Express]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Indian Railways}}
{{North Chotanagpur Division topics}}
{{Railway lines in Eastern India}}

[[Category:5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India]]
[[Category:Rail transport in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Jharkhand]]
[[Category:Railway lines in Bihar]]
[[Category:Railway lines in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1907]]
[[Category:1907 establishments in India]]
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