Train Talk (Chai & Choo Choos)

There is no indication on the page as to which year this article was published in. It (apparently) refers to Monday, the 31st of January being the last day on which there would be a metre-gauge service from and to Ratlam. The last time the 31st of January fell on a Monday was in 2011. As of now erail isn't showing any trains between Ratlam and Fatehabad Chandrawatiganj. That section must be undergoing conversion now. Ujjain-FTD-Indore-Khandwa-Akola is evidently still functioning as a metre-gauge line.

I find navigating Facebook a bit confusing but I found the post again. It was put up on 31st December 2012 and on 3rd January 2013 the OP posted this

So "Monday the 31st" refers to the 31st of December 2012. Newspaper articles without a dateline can be confusing.

Samit05 shows the Ujjain-Agar line (narrow gauge) as closed. Ujjain used to be one of the stations with three gauges.

So, what metre gauge will be left running?

I can think of the following: -

Ahmedabad-Udaipur.
Marwar-Mavli
Lumding-Silchar/Agartala (and a few little off shoots)
Pathankot-Jogindernagar (though I thought this was a narrower gauge when I traveled along it)
There's also a couple of long lines just south of the Nepal border, one from Gonda I think.

All the others I can think of are under gauge conversion as far as I'm aware, though I've not got the rail atlas with me.

Steven

I think that Jaipur - Churu and a branch off that to Loharu is still running as is Bhojipura - Lucknow and the Mailani - Gonda line that you mentioned. It looks like there is still a stub of metre gauge south west of Ahmedabad as a continuation of the line from Udaipur.

The line from Pathankot up the Kangra Valley is 2'6" (762mm)

I believe that the Nilgiri is the only meter gauge left in the south of India.

Hopefully somebody better informed will come back with more.

The Ahmedabad-Mahesana section seems to have both gauges. There is a metre-gauge branch from Himatnagar on the ADI-Udaipur line to Khed Brahma. In fact the Ahmedabad-Himatnagar-Khed Brahma line is much older than the Himatnagar-Udaipur line. The latter was built within my memory. Udaipur City had been a terminus till then.
The Adraj Moti-Vijapur-Ambliyasan line is still metre-gauge.
The Kasganj-Bareilly line going on to Pilibhit and further is metre gauge. We came across it on our fantasy tour. In fact there is a train 15309 Ruhelkhand Express from Kasganj to Lucknow-Aishbagh that runs on metre-gauge. Apparently there is no metre-gauge at Lucknow Jn. any more.

That will teach me to go on the Indiarailinfo atlas which shows Kasganj - Bareilly to be Single track BG. Train 15309 is shown by iri. Unreserved.96 rupees (approx) for 422 km. I hadn't come across the concept of an approximate fare before.

Maybe on the next trip if it is still running.

I just found Mavli-Bari Sadri to be still going strong with one daily train each way.

In the days when Jaipur-Sawai Madhopur (and a lot else) was still metre-gauge there were two daily express trains on the route Sawai Madhopur-Jaipur-Ringas-Sikar-Loharu.

The Sanganer-Toda Rai Singh line seems dead as a dodo. Closure is probably a more honourable end than conversion. Train enthusiasts could revive it as a steam-driven heritage line. In the sixties there used to be metre-gauge trains from Jaipur to Toda Rai Singh.

In November just past a friend and I took a taxi from Udaipur to visit the Ravla Khempur hotel which is near the town of Mavli. Once off the highway the drive through the countryside was pleasantly rural with our taxi the only motor traffic. At a railway crossing I was interested to see that the rail track was metre gauge. The line in fact was the one connecting Mavli to Bari Sadri.

I had been interested to visit Ravla Khempur upon learning that the hotel had been used in the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". My friend and I, who were really no more than sightseers, were received most hospitably by the owner and also the hotel manager who gave more than an hour of his time in showing us the hotel and the adjoining horse stud.

Both the railway and Ravla Khempur can be readily found on Wikimapia's satellite images. Ravla Khempur, a pleasant heritage hotel in a rural district, has both a website and facebook page.

i also noted 52563 - AGTL SCL PASS with CC in MG - seems interesting...

I wonder where the original Palace on Wheels metre-gauge carriages are. Those could be refurbished and run on a heritage train between Sanganer and Toda Rai Singh.

i 'found' them at NRM Delhi. i was wondering whether to laugh or cry on looking at the status of those 'heritage' items...
interestingly, i asked one of the officials where the PoW is & he said it is not here. in fact he said that may be spotted at delhi cantt. i told him i'm looking for the old MG version which is at NRM, not the current version in use. he said he had not heard about that being present in NRM. except for a map that indicates the position, there is nothing that gives you an idea of what you are seeing when going thru the toy train ride. thankfully, i had taken a pic of the map at entrance & was able to review that in the camera to figure it out...


looking at the way they were refurbishing a neral-matheran coach with plywood by the lowest cost contractor, i really wish they allow the MG rakes to die in peace, instead of trying to restore them...

Another narrow gauge line closes for gauge conversion. Katwa - Ahmadpur.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repos.../Ad0111103.png

Is that the last of the narrow gauge within easy distance of Kolkata?

Apparently! I wonder when it will reopen as broad-gauge. The Burdwan-Katwa line hasn't been reopened yet and they have been working on that one for some time now.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/113011...y_16438707.jsp

Another article on the 96-year-old narrow-gauge line from Ahmedpur to Katwa, in today's Telegraph of Kolkata.