Have you heard of "Shakuntala Railways" in India? Many of us have not heard of Shakuntala Railways, the only railway in India that is still not owned by the Indian government.
The reason as to why this railway line does not come under the Indian Railways is still unclear, but when the entire railways were nationalised in 1952, this line was strangely left alone.
Shakuntala Express is one of the last vestiges of the colonial era railways, continues to enthrall train lovers around the world. The antique train runs on India’s only private railway line between Achalpur and Yavatmal in Maharashtra, chugging along the 190 km stretch at an average speed of 20 km per hour.
Source: Ritesh Shah
Ride into history
During the British Raj, all of the rail lines were owned by individual firms, and this Shakuntala railway was founded by a British Firm called Killick-Nixon, in 1910.
Unlike most railway lines in India that uses broad gauge lines, the Shakuntala Railways still use narrow gauge lines.
The private firm floated the Central Province Railway Company (CPRC), a joint venture with the British colonial government in India. The Railway tracks were used for transporting cotton from Vidarbha and finally to Manchester in England. The track had trains running on it by 1916, and soon it was being used to ferry passengers too.
The Shaunkala express runs from Achalpur, in the Amaravati division and takes just one return journey each day. And the most surprising fact is that the British Company still receives contact money from Indian Railways for running a train on its tracks.
With old and rusty steam engines, and ‘made in Liverpool’ inscribed on it, a ride in the Shakuntala Railways will remind you of another era altogether.
The journey time used to be four and a half hours. Now it takes double the time.
Source: Ritesh Shah
One of the pilots on the section Mr. P V Thakre says, “Earlier the train would run at 30 km per hour. Now it runs at 20 km per hour, and on the bridges, the caution speed is 5 km per hour.”
He also added, "while the bus from Murtazapur to Yavatmal takes just a few hours, it costs Rs. 150, six times more than the train fare. The trains, therefore, have become a lifeline for poor people residing in the villages between Murtazapur and Yavatmal and Murtazapur and Achalpur."
Recently, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has sanctioned 1,500 crores for converting the narrow gauge Yavatmal-Murtizapur-Achalpur railway line into broad gauge. So, Shakuntala Express is likely to run on the broad gauge line shortly.
Share
