Cherra Companyganj State Railways (CCSR) was a narrow gauge mountain railway that existed in British India.
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History
The Cherra Companyganj State Railway was conceptualized by Hubert Kench, the British Executive Engineer of Khasi and Jaintia Hills Division, as there was need to connect Shillong, capital of province to Calcutta, then the capital of British India by rail. The CCSR in Meghalaya was opened to traffic on June 6, 1886. CCSR was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge tramway and the railway operated between Tharia, a mining town in Meghalaya and Companyganj, now in Sylhet District of Bangladesh, for a distance of 7.5 miles (12.1 km). Seven gradients were worked by rope mechanisms. It was built at a cost of eight lakhs, which was incurred by erstwhile Provincial Government of Assam. An extension of railway link up to Sylhet and Goalundo was in plan from where railway link to Calcutta already existed but plans never materialised.
Closure
The railway continued to run between Tharia and Companyganj till the Assam earthquake of 1897 in which the tracks were completely destroyed. The tracks were not repaired after that and the railway finally closed in 1900.