Railway Battalions were a part of the Bengal Army of the Bengal Presidency, an administrative province existing during British rule in India. At the time, a number of railway battalions existed like the Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion, Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion, Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion and Assam Bengal Railway Battalion. These battalions are described below.
Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion
Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion, an auxiliary regiment under the Bengal command contained staff of the Bengal and North-Western Railway. It was created as the Bengal and North Western Railway Volunteer Rifles in 1879. In 1892, it merged with the Tirhoot State Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps. It became the 22nd Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion in 1917. It was in 1920, that the Battalion was designated as the Bengal and North Western Railway Battalion.
Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion
Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion was raised as the Bengal Nagpur Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps on the 15th of June, 1888. It was merged with the Orissa Volunteer Rifles on the 18th of November, 1898, prior to it"s reorganization into a Corps of two Battalions in 1903. It was designated the 36th Bengal Nagpur Railway Regiment on 1st of April, 1917 and then the Bengal Nagpur Railway Regiment on the 1st of October, 1920. It was on 13th of April, 1933, that the unit was designated Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion. The uniform of the unit was khaki in color.
Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion
Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion, an auxiliary regiment under the Bengal command comprised of the staff of the Eastern Bengal Railway and Northern Bengal State Railway. It was raised as Eastern Bengal State Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps by GGO 223 in 1873. Two of its other designations were Eastern Bengal Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps and 12th Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion. It was in 1920 that the unit became Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion.
Assam Bengal Railway Battalion
Assam Bengal Railway Battalion was an auxiliary regiment consisting of the staff of the Assam-Bengal Railway. It came to be known as the Assam-Bengal Railway Volunteer Rifles in 1901. It was designated the 42nd Assam Bengal Railway Battalion in 1917. It was in 1920 that the unit came to be known as the Assam Bengal Railway Battalion.
