|
|
Traveling by train is the best
way to savor the immense diversity that exists throughout the
length and breadth of India. Not only does one get to see how
the culture varies, but we are able to perceive how the
landscape and the history of each state unravels itself as we
meander through the tunnels, the deserts, the ghats, and the
mountain ranges.
Most of the railway track was laid by the British, but it was
only when the colonial rule ended, that Indian Railways was in a
sense liberated and became an entity.
The first commercial passenger train was inaugurated on April
16th. 1853 when a train, which had 14 carriages, ran between
Bori-Bunder and Thane.
|
Three locomotives were required to haul these carriages and they
were christened as Sahib, Sultan, and Sindh. The journey lasted for and hour and fifteen minutes.
Although this was the first passenger train in India, there was
a steam locomotive called Thompson, which was already being used
for construction work. It was operated between Roorkee and
Solani since 1851. A second locomotive named Falkland was being
used by contractors and a third locomotive called Vulcan was
being used for hauling and shunting since 1852.
After the first commercial passenger train operating between
Bombay and Thane was inaugurated, another passenger train
commenced operations between Howrah and Hooghly in 1854.
This heralded the beginning of the Eastern Railway. The North
Eastern Railway soon became a reality and on October 19th, 1875,
a train between Hathras Road and Mathura Cantonment was started.
Further East, The Dibrugarh-Dinjan line soon became operational
and the Indian Railways slowly started expanding its network.
South India not to be outdone began operating between Vysarapady
and Wallajah Road on July 1st 1856. The railway line eventually
reached Madras and also extended itself to the west coast.
Thus Allahabad and Kanpur also came within the purview of the
Indian Railways. Quickly, Indian Railways expanded and now is
considered as having the largest railway network in Asia. It has
a total track length of approximately 108,706 kilometers and
covers a total length of approximately 63,140 kilometers.
There are about 8700 passenger trains, over 4 lakh coaches, and
about 7500 locomotives. Indian Railways use Broad Gauge, meter
gauge and Narrow gauge. Broad Gauge is used where traffic is
high, while places with less traffic resort to meter gauge.
The Nigiri Mountain Railway and
Darjeeling Himalayan railway usually have narrow gauge. For the
purpose of convenience in its administration, the Indian
Railways is divided into 16 zones.
Indian Railways have several special trains, which are known
across the world such as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri
Mountain Railway, Palace on Wheels, Samjhauta Express, Lifeline
Express, Fairy Queen, Himsagar Express and others. The Palace on
Wheels” helps you to experience royalty during travel and passes
through several interesting places/.
Fairy Queen is perhaps the oldest steam engine and has found a
place in the Guinness book of world records. Cities like Mumbai,
Chennai, have suburban networks plying from one end of the city
to the other, while Calcutta and Delhi operate underground
transit trains called metros.
There are certain Official Indian railway web sites, which
provide a plethora of information about the railways & ticket
booking.
Some of them are listed below :
Indianrail.gov.in gives you details about the railway system in
India and included, rules, fares, schedules and any information
about Indian Railways.
Indianrailways.gov.in is the official website of the Indian
railways and is an important source for its history and present
policies.
Irctc.co.in is a government site, which enables you to make
reservations online, and also gives you loads of information
about the Indian Railway system.
irfca.org – provides interesting facts, articles and technical
documents, which are worth a read. If you have a question go to
www.irfca.org/faq/
|
