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

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1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)

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2 ft (610 mm)

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List of operational lines

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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
  • Gauge conversion announced in 2016.[12]
7 Western Railway Bilimora–Waghai Bilimora Waghai 63 kms
  • Heritage airconditioned train service in operation since 2021.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ Ravibabu, Sudhanshu Mani & M. (2023-10-08). "Revisiting the rail gauge debate". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  2. ^ "Western Railway is killing off the last of its 'toy trains'". Mintlounge. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  3. ^ "Column | When a tramway ran through central Kerala's forests". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  4. ^ Kuruvilla, Anu (2023-10-06). "Cochin's 'tram'sformation tale". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  5. ^ "Last narrow-gauge line in plains of north India is counting its days". The Week. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  6. ^ "Netas connect Karauli, Dholpur with rail line only during polls". The Times of India. 2019-04-23. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  7. ^ "Decks cleared for rail travel between Itwari-Chhindwara". The Times of India. 2020-08-24. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Itwari-Nagbhid narrow gauge train now history". The Times of India. 2019-11-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  11. ^ "Last narrow gauge line in Central India to chug into history". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Indian Railways to resume Bilimora-Waghai narrow gauge train in Gujarat with AC Tourist coach". Financialexpress. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  14. ^ "Explained: Why Gujarat is seeing protests to save a 107-year-old railway line". The Indian Express. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2024-08-09.