Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction – Kanpur section Mughalsarai–Kanpur section
Branch line of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction–Kanpur section passes through Varanasi Junction
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Gangetic Plain in Uttar Pradesh
Termini	Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction Kanpur Central
Service
Operator(s)	North Central Railway for main line North Eastern Railway and Northern Railway for certain branch lines
Depot(s)	Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction and Kanpur Central
Rolling stock	WDM-2, WDM-3A and WDS-5 diesel locos; WAM-4, WAP-4 and WAG-7 electric locos
History
Opened	1859 (partial, locally) 1866 (through main line)
Technical
Track length	Main line: 346 km (215 mi) Branch lines: Varanasi–Allahabad City 130 km (81 mi) Varanasi–Phaphamau 122 km (76 mi) Allahabad–Kanpur via Unnao 249 km (155 mi)
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE in 1968
Operating speed	130 km/h (81 mph)
Route map Legend Kanpur–Delhi section to Farukhabad Govindpuri Kanpur Anwarganj Kanpur Junction Chandari 190 194 249 Kanpur Central Chakeri 183 Kanpur Airport Ganges Rooma 176 245 Kanpur Bridge Left Bank Sirsaul 172 238 Magarwar Prempur 166 231 Unnao Karbigwan 160 Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Aung 154 220 Korari Bundki Road 148 216 Achalganj Kanspur Gugauli 140 194 Band Hamirpur Malwan 133 179 Tikauli Rawatpur Kurasti Kalan 123 173 Kulha Halt Fatehpur 117 169 Bighapur NH 34 157 Indemau Ramya 111 155 Takia Faizillapur 106 149 Baiswara Rasulabad 97 143 Raghuraj Singh Sath Narayani 90 138 Nihasta Halt Khaga 82 130 Lalganj Katoghan 75 124 Bahal Kanwar 69 116 Dalmau Athsarai 64 Varanasi–Rae Bareli– Lucknow line Sirathu 57 111 Bara Buzurg Sujaatpur 47 106 Jalalpur Dhal Bidnapur 42 100 Manjhlepur State Highway 94 96 Ishardaspur Bharwari 37 to Varanasi–Rae Bareli– Lucknow line Manoharganj 29 85 Unchahar Saiyid Sarwan 22 Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station State Highway 95 83 Arkha Manauri 17 74 Pariawan Kalakankar Road Allahabad Airport 68 Garhi Manikpur Subedarganj 4 55 Kunda Harnamganj NH 2 48 Bhadri Allahabad 0 152 41 Lalgopalganj 34 Ramchaura Road Prayag 6 27 Atrampur Curzon bridge across the Ganges 20 Sarai Gopal Phaphamau 13 122 Allahabad–Faizabad line Allahabad City (Rambagh) 130 Daraganj 126 Izat Bridge across the Ganges 99 Phulpur Jhusi 121 90 Ugrasenpur NH 2 Baryaram Ramnathpur 112 Varanasi–Rae Bareli– Lucknow line NH 2 76 Janghai Saidabad 101 70 Sarai Kansrai Mogaraw 60 Suriawan NH 2 53 Mondh Handia Khas 94 45 Bhadohi Bhiti 86 37 Parsipur Atraura 83 28 Kapseti Jangiganj 80 23 Shewpuri Sarai Jagdish 69 Lohta Gyanpur Road 67 16 Chuakhandi Old Naini Bridge across Yamuna 57 Almaw Naini 145 51 Ahimanpur Allahabad–Jabalpur section 47 Madhosingh Cheoki 143 39 Katka Karchana 134 32 Kachwa Road Bheerpur 125 26 Nigatpur Tamsa River Baharawa Halt Meja Road 114 18 Raja Talab Unchdih 108 12 Hardattpur Manda Road 98 6 Bhulanpur Jigna 89 Banaras Locomotive Works Gaipura 82 4 Manduadih Birohe 75 Railway Locomotive Shop Vindhyachal 70 Varanasi–Ayodhya line Mirzapur 63 0 Varanasi Junction Jhingura 55 Pahara 47 Varanasi City Dagmagpur 39 Varanasi–Chhapra line to Aunrihar to Singrauli to Garhwa Road Billi 118 Chopan 112 Son River Agori Khas 101 Churk 90 Sonbhadra 85 Khairahi 67 Karman Halt 51 Lusa 42 Sarson Gram Halt 30 Saktesgarh 21 Vishwanathpuri 12 Chunar 32 0 11 Kashi Malviya Bridge across the Ganges Kailahat 22 6 Vyaspur Ahraura Road 14 Jeonathpur Road 10 Mughalsarai 0 Mughalsarai mashalling yard Gaya–Mughalsarai section Patna–Mughalsarai section

The Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction – Kanpur section, formerly Mughalsarai–Kanpur section, officially Kanpur - Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay (CNB-DDU) section,^[1] is a railway line connecting Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (DDU) and Kanpur Central (CNB) stations. This 347 km (216 mi) track is part of the Howrah–Delhi main line and Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line. The main line is under the jurisdiction of North Central Railway. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction is under the jurisdiction of East Central Railway. Some branch lines are under the jurisdiction of the North Eastern Railway and Northern Railway.

The main line was laid in the Gangetic Plain, south of the Ganges.^[2][3] Between Naini and Prayagraj (Allahabad), it crosses the Yamuna and enters the doab region or the inland peninsula between the Ganges and Yamuna, still keeping south of the Ganges.^[4] Some branch lines came up on the northern side of the Ganges and got interlinked as bridges came up across the Ganges.^[3]

Two places on these tracks are major pilgrimage centres – Prayagraj on the main line and Varanasi, a little off the main line, on a branch line. Varanasi is connected by rail to places throughout India.^[5][6] The railways make special arrangements for the huge influx of pilgrims for the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.^[7]

The railways played a major role in the development of Kanpur as an industrial centre.^[8] The 1050 MW Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Plant, in this section, consumed 5,022,000 tonnes of coal in 2006–07, which was transported by the railways.^[9]

The East Indian Railway Company initiated efforts to develop a railway line from Howrah to Delhi in the mid nineteenth century. Even when the line to Mughalsarai was being constructed and only the lines near Howrah were put in operation, the first train ran from Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to Kanpur in 1859 and the Kanpur–Etawah section was opened to traffic in the 1860s. For the first through train from Howrah to Delhi in 1864, coaches were ferried on boats across the Yamuna at Allahabad. With the completion of the Old Naini Bridge across the Yamuna through trains started running in 1865–66.^[10][11][12]

In 1867, the Indian Branch Railway Company opened the Kanpur–Lucknow line.^[10]

The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway opened the line from Varanasi to Lucknow in 1872.^[13]

The construction of the Dufferin Bridge (later renamed Malviya Bridge), across the Ganges, in 1887, connected Mughalsarai and Varanasi.^[13]

The opening of the Curzon Bridge, across the Ganges, in 1902, linked Allahabad to regions north of or beyond the Ganges.^[14]

The Varanasi–Allahabad City (Rambagh) line was constructed as a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)-wide metre-gauge line by the Bengal and North Western Railway between 1899 and 1913. The line was converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge in 1993–94.^[15][16]

Electrification in the Mughalsarai–Kanpur sector started in 1964–65 with the Mughalsarai–Dagmagpur section. In 1965–66, Mughalsarai Yard was electrified, along with the Dagmagpur–Cheoki and the Cheoki–Subedarganj sections. The Subedarganj–Manoharganj–Athasarai–Kanspur Gugauli–Panki and Chandari loops were electrified in 1966–67. Kanpur–Panki was electrified in 1968–69.^[17] The entire Mughalsarai–Prayagraj–Kanpur section was electrified with AC overhead line in 1968.^[18]

The Kanpur–Kanpur Bridge–Unnao–Lucknow section was electrified in 1999–2000.^[17]

The electrification work was completed in the Varanasi–Lohta–Janghai–Phaphamau–Unchahar and the Phaphamau–Prayag–Prayagraj Jn sections in early 2010s.^[19]

Mughal Sarai diesel loco shed is home to WDM-2, WDM-3A and WDS-5 diesel locos. There was a Northern Railway diesel loco shed at Mughalsarai. It was decommissioned in 2001. Mughalsarai electric loco shed can hold more than 150 electric locos. Amongst them are WAM-4, WAP-4 and more than 70 WAG-7 locos. Kanpur Central electric loco shed accommodates WAP-7, WAP-4, WAG-9 and WAG-7 electric locos.^[20]

The largest wagon repair workshop of Indian Railways is located at Mughalsarai. There are engineering workshops at Prayagraj.^[20]

Mughalsarai marshalling yard is the largest in Asia.^[21][22][23] It is 12.5 km long and handles around 1,500 wagons daily. Wagon handling has come down after the railways discontinued piecemeal loading. At its peak, it handled 5,000 wagons a day.^[21][24]

The entire Howrah–Delhi line, via Howrah–Bardhaman chord and Grand Chord is classified as a "Group A" line which can take speeds up to 160 km/h.^[25] However actual maximum permissible speed on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction–Kanpur section is 130 km/h for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, GR and a few Express trains.

Mughalsarai Junction, Allahabad and Kanpur Central on the main line, and Varanasi Junction on a branch line are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.^[26]