Andal Junction railway station

Andal is a railway station on the Bardhaman-Asansol section. Andal-Sainthia branch line and Andal-Sitarampur branch line, both with numerous colliery siding, start from Andal. It is located in Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves Andal and the surrounding mining-industrial areas.OverviewMining-industry zone"The entire belt between Durgapur, and all the way up to Dhanbad and beyond is industrialized. Apart from factories, there are many coalmines, some closed now, and some with fires burning deep in the mineshafts. The mining area extends for a large area, mostly to the south of the tracks. Quite a portion of the track passes through cuttings, where the surrounding area is higher than the track level, resulting in the profusion of characteristic small masonry bridges crossing the tracks." This description is from "Gomoh loco shed and CLW trip record" by Samit Roychoudhury.HistoryThe first passenger train in eastern India ran from Howrah to Hooghly on 15 August 1854. The track was extended to Raniganj by 1855.ElectrificationThe Waria-Asansol sector was electrified in 1960-61.Loco shedAndal has a dieslel loco shed. It houses WDS-6, WDM-2, WDM 3A and WDG-3A locomotives. The first WDM-2 manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works is in Andal loco shed.