Narrow-gauge railways in India
This is a list of former and current narrow-gauge railways in India. All railways except the heritage ones are closed or under conversion/are converted to the nation-wide standard 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge, under Project Unigauge. Despite attempts to convert the entire country into broad-gauge many Metro systems and Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor are done under Standard-gauge railway.[1]
In 2007, India had 45 narrow-gauge lines in operation and most of these lines were made in pre-independence era predominantly in territories controlled by Princely states or terrain with steep gradient.[2]
Defunct lines
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
- Assam Bengal Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Bareilly–Pilibheet Provincial State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Bengal Nagpur Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Bhavnagar State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Bikaner State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Cawnpore–Barabanki Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Cochin State Forest Tramway (closed)[3][4]
- Cooch Behar State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Dhrangadhra Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (most lines converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Gondal State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jaipur State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jamnagar & Dwarka Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jetalsar–Rajkot Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jodhpur State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Junagadh State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Kathiawar State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Lucknow–Sitapur–Seramow Provincial State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Mashrak–Thawe Extension Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Morvi Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Mysore State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Nawabganj Sugar Factory Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Okhamandal State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Porbandar State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Rajputana–Malwa Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Southern Mahratta Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- West of India Portuguese Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
- Barsi Light Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Bengal Provincial Railway (closed)
- Bhavnagar Tramway (closed)
- Cherra Companyganj State Railways (closed)
- Cooch Behar State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Cutch State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Dehri Rohtas Light Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway (being converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)[5][6]
- Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Martin's Light Railways (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Mayurbhanj State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- McLeod's Light Railways (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Morvi Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Nasik Tramway (closed)
- Pachora–Jamner railway (to be converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Parlakimedi Light Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Rajpipla State Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Satpura Railway (under conversion to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)[7][8]
- Shakuntala Railway (under conversion to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge) (Yavatmal - Murtizapur - Achalpur section and Arvi - Pulgaon section).[9]
- Abhanpur - Rajim/Dhamtari (under conversion to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Itwari - Nagbhir (under conversion to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)[10][11]
2 ft (610 mm)
- Gwalior Light Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Jorehaut Provincial Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Kundala Valley Railway (closed)
- Martin's Light Railways (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
- Ryam Sugar Factory Railway (converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge)
List of operational lines
| Sl No | Zone | Name | From | To | Operational length | Future Prospectus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Railway | Nilgiri Mountain Railway 1000mm | Mettupalayam (MTP) | Udhagamandalam(UAM) | 46 kms | |
| 2 | Northeast Frontier Railway | DHR (Toy Train) 610mm | New Jalpaiguri (NJP) | Darjeeling | 83.9 kms | |
| 3 | Northern Railway | Kangra Valley Railway 762mm | Pathankot | Joginder Nagar | 164 kms |
|
| 4 | Northern Railway | Kalka–Shimla Railway 762mm | Kalka | Shimla | 96.6 kms | |
| 5 | Central Railway | Matheran Hill Railway 610mm | Neral | Matheran | 21 kms |
|
| 6 | Western Railway | Pachora–Jamner railway | Pachora Junction | Jamner | 56 kms |
|
| 7 | Western Railway | Bilimora–Waghai | Bilimora | Waghai | 63 kms |
References
- ^ Ravibabu, Sudhanshu Mani & M. (2023-10-08). "Revisiting the rail gauge debate". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ "Western Railway is killing off the last of its 'toy trains'". Mintlounge. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ "Column | When a tramway ran through central Kerala's forests". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ Kuruvilla, Anu (2023-10-06). "Cochin's 'tram'sformation tale". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ "Last narrow-gauge line in plains of north India is counting its days". The Week. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Netas connect Karauli, Dholpur with rail line only during polls". The Times of India. 2019-04-23. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Decks cleared for rail travel between Itwari-Chhindwara". The Times of India. 2020-08-24. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Narrow gauge section of Nagpur division of Railways closes from October 1 in Satputda valley". The Economic Times. 2015-09-20. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Wildlife nod must to upgrade railway line through Amravati's Melghat: Piyush Goyal". The Times of India. 2021-07-22. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Itwari-Nagbhid narrow gauge train now history". The Times of India. 2019-11-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Last narrow gauge line in Central India to chug into history". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Regarding conversion of proposed narrow gauge railway line between Navin Pachora to Jamner to broad gauge | District Jalgaon, Government of Maharashtra | India". Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Indian Railways to resume Bilimora-Waghai narrow gauge train in Gujarat with AC Tourist coach". Financialexpress. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ "Explained: Why Gujarat is seeing protests to save a 107-year-old railway line". The Indian Express. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
