Narrow gauge railways in India

India has a substantial network of narrow gauge railways that are narrower than the 1,435mm standard gauge. The majority of these are 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge, approximately 9,000 km of track and 7,500 km of route in 2011. The other are 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railways and 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge that are known as "narrow gauge" in India (as opposed to "metre gauge") lines and were 2,400 km of route in 2011.

The total length of tracks used by Indian Railways was about 114,000 km (71,000 mi) while the total route length of the network was 64,215 km (39,901 mi) in 2011.^[1]

The metre gauge with about 9,000 km of track length was 7.9% of entire track length of all the gauges in 2011. Narrow gauges with 2,400 km of route were about 3% of of entire route length in 2011.

History

In 1991, India concluded that cities on the metre gauge network have a second-rate train service and decided to convert most of the metre gauge and narrow gauge network to broad gauge as Project Unigauge - the advantages of uniformity and interoperability were judged to outweigh any other possible benefits arising from the use of diverse gauges.

The lengths of metre gauge and narrow gauge tracks have progressive reduced from approx. 30,000 route kilometre at the start of Project Unigauge in 1991 to approx. 7,500 route kilometre in 2011.

Notable narrow gauge lines

The narrow gauges are present on a few routes, lying in hilly terrains and in some erstwhile private railways (on cost considerations), which are usually difficult to convert to broad gauge.

In 1999 the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (sometimes called the Darjeeling "Toy Train") was officially designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge railway that runs from Siliguri to Darjeeling and Jaipalguri in the state of West Bengal. The railway travels climbs the foothills of the Himalayas and uses several unusual civil engineering techniques to gain the necessary height including several switchbacks, and spirals including the famous double loop at AGONY Point. Until recently all trains on this railway were powered by steam locomotives; however in 2001 two modern diesel engines were built for the line. Most trains are now hauled by the latter, though the former are still used for some tourist services.

The Matheran Hill Railway is another surviving 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge hill railway. The route was destroyed by landslides caused by heavy rains in the 2005 monsoons, but has been rebuilt.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway in North-West India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. Another narrow gauge railway line in India runs in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh. The trains on this route run from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar through Kangra Valley.

Parlakimidi Light Railway, the Naupada-Gunupur railway line in India is laid between the east coast and Eastern Ghats in North Eastern Andhra Pradesh and Southern Orissa. It was built by Maharajah of Paralakhemundi in 1889. It is being converted to broad gauge and the conversion is expected to be complete in 2010.

Other narrow gauge lines are^[2]:

Shantipur Jn - Krishnagar City Jn - Nabadwip Ghat (28 km) Nadiad Jn - Petlad Jn - Bochansan Jn - Bhadran (59 km) Dabhoi Jn - Pratapnagar - Vishvamitri Jn - Jambusar Jn (79 km) Dabhoi Jn - Miyagam Karjan Jn (33 km) Dabhoi Jn - Chandod (17 km) Dabhoi Jn - Chhuchhapura Jn - Bodeli (25 km) Dabhoi Jn - Chhuchhapura Jn - Tankhala (53 km) Bilimora Jn - Waghai (65 km) Dhaulpur Jn - Bari - Mohari Jn - Tantpur / Sirmuttra (89 km) Gwalior Jn - Sabalgarh - Sheopur Kalan (200 km)

Achalpur - Murtajapur Jn - Yavatmal (113 km) Pulgaon - Arvi (35km) Miraj Jn - Pandharpur - Kurduvadi Jn - Barsi Town - Latur (300 km) (The former Barsi Light Railway) All sections of this line have been converted to broad gauge. Nainpur Jn - Jabalpur (71km) This section has been converted to broad gauge. Nainpur Jn - Balaghat Jn Nainpur Jn - Mandla Fort (30 km) Nainpur Jn - Seoni - Chhindwara - Itwari Jn - Nagpur Jn (290 km) Nagpur - Naghbir Jn (111 km) Pachora Jn - Jamner (54 km) Raipur Jn - Abhanpur Jn - Dhamtari (27 km) Barddhaman Jn - Katwa Jn - Ahmadpur Jn (105 km). Lucknow to Agra fort Bhavnagar to Talaja - Mahuva (NONUSE SINCE 1995)

References

1. ^ compiled and edited by Research, Reference and Training Division. (2011). India Yearbook 2011. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India. ISBN 978 81 230 1674 0. 
2. ^ "Indian Narrow-Gauge Lines 2002-2003". http://www.irfca.org/docs/rinbad-ng.html.