LUCKNOW: For 100 years, Indias only two-foot wide and 200kmlongnarrow gauge railway line in the plains has been a vital mode of transport for thousands of villagers between Gwalior and Sheopur Kalan. But, the heritage track would soon be dismantled to build a broad gauge to cater to more passengers.
Set up by Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia in 1893, the two-foot gauge line of Scindia State Railway (later rechristened as North Central Railway) connects over 200 villages between Gwalior and Sheopur Kalan. The railway board has sanctioned the project and the toy train line will be replaced with broad gauge till Kota.
To preserve the heritage of the royal railway line, NCR zone general manager Rajiv Chaudhary will release an online documentary in Prayagraj this Independence Day .
“In 1893, Scindia started his two feet gauge line within palace ground at Gwalior, his capital city. From Gwalior, three branches to Sheopur Kalan (199km), Bhind (83Km) and Shivpuri (118 Km) were built by 1909 and an isolated Ujjain Agar section was also built by Maharaja in 1932 and was managed by one system (Gwalior light railway). In 1942, the title was changed to Scindia State Railway and in 1951 the ownership passed to central railway. Today, its part of Jhansi division of North Central Railway,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
“Scindia State Railway or Gwalior light railway (GLR) is the only narrow gauge railway line of two feet in India, which has served a population in plains for about 100 years. A section of about a hundred miles has been spared and you can hear the little trains tooting impatiently and racing with auto-rickshaw and tongas as they run through crowded localities, their carriages crammed to capacity, stopping at little stations which themselves look no bigger than ordinary railway carriages,” he added.
Gwalior-Sheopur Kalan was opened from 1904 to 1909 and a distance of about 200km can be completed in nearly 10 hours, covering 28 stations. Eight traRead More – Source
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