Shakuntala Railway

Shakuntala Railway
Overview
Locale Maharashtra, India
Termini Yavatmal
Achalpur
Operation
Opened 1903
Owner Killick, Nixon and Company
Operator(s) Central Railway
Technical
Line length 189 km (117 mi)
Track gauge 2 ft 6 in (762 mm)

Shakuntala Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railway line between Yavatmal and Achalpur in Maharashtra in central India.

History

Killick, Nixon and Company, set up in 1857, created the Central Provinces Railway Company (CPRC) to act as its agents. The company built the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge line in 1903.[1] The company built this narrow-gauge line in 1903 to carry cotton from cotton-rich interior areas of Vidarbha to the Murtajapur Junction on main broad gauge line to Mumbai from where it was shipped to Manchester in England. Murtajapur Junction was the focal point of this railway. Though, working autonomously, the CPRC was grouped in 1952 under the Central Railways.[1][2] 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 It was withdrawn on 15 April 1994, and replaced by a diesel engine.

Conversion to broad gauge

In 2016, Indian Railways announced that the Shakuntala Railway would be converted to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "British Company Still Gets Royalty For Shakuntala Railway". IndiaTV. August 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ Hardikar, Jaideep (November 26, 2004). "A railway ride into history". BBC.
  3. ↑ Government to take over Shakuntala, only private railway line, convert to broad gauge
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