Shakuntala Railway

Shakuntala Railway is a narrow gauge railway line in India. Murtazapur Junction - Yavatmal 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge line was opened by Central Province Railway in 1903.^[1]

History

Killick, Nixon and Company, set up in 1857, created the Central Provinces Railway Company (CPRC) to act as its agents. The company built this narrow gauge line in 1903 to carry cotton from Yavatmal to the main line to Mumbai from where it was shipped to Manchester in England.

A ZD-steam engine, built in 1921 in Manchester, pulled the train for more than 70 long years after being put in service in 1923. It was withdrawn on 15 April 1994, and replaced by a diesel engine that now pulls the carriages. The Murtizapur-Ellichpur railway route added to the prosperity and economic growth of the rich cotton tracts of the western zone of Amravati district. It has accelerated the growth of trade and commerce and facilitated passenger transport on a large scale.

This narrow gauge route emanates from the Mumbai-Nagpur-Calcutta broad gauge line from Murtizapur junction in Akola and finds its course towards the north. It covers a distance of about 64.37 km from Bhujwad to Ellichpur, in Amravati.

The line was constructed in December 1913 by the former Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company for a branch line company called the Central Provinces Railway.

On termination of the contracts with the former Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company the line was brought under direct state management from July 1925. Though, known as the C. P. Railway, it was grouped in 1952 under the Central Railway. The topography of the countryside through which the line passes is plain with a few hills and may be described to be more dry than green. It finds its course to the north through the black and fertile tracts famous for cotton cultivation.

Before entering Amravati district the line crosses the Purna river. During its course in this district it crosses the Chandrabhaga river near Banosa (Daryapur) and again between Khusta Buzurg and Chamak railway stations. There is a well-built bridge on the line across the Sapan river at 74.03 km (mile 46).^[1][2]

History of Indian narrow gauge railways

India has a substantial network of narrow gauge railways that are narrower than the 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) 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, 7.9% of the total Indian rail network. The others are 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railways and 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railways that are known as "narrow gauge railway" in India (as opposed to "metre gauge railway" 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. 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.

Maps

• IN Network Map

See also

References