The Gwalior Light Railway: World's longest narrow gauge track

A narrow gauge train, in middle of nowhere, on a rugged landscape, somewhere close to Sabalgarh in MP.

The Gwalior Light Railway

This is Gwalior Light Railway, was constructed in the first decade of 1900's by the erstwhile Maharaja of Gwalior, Madho Rao Scindia. Built in phases, it is a narrow-gauge (2 feet) track that extends over 200 km to connect Seopur Kalan to Gwalior (both in MP), and is the world's longest narrow-gauge track. It traverses a part of the Chambal valley and skirts the lesser-known Kuno-Palpur National Park. Diesel engines have eventually replaced the original steam locomotives on these tracks.

At Kuno-Palpur National Park

 There are twenty-six stations on the way, apart from the two end-points. There are two rail-cum-road bridges on the way, where the road-traffic needs to patiently wait to give way to the train. The train runs at maximum speed of 35 kmph (yes, 35 indeed, I have not missed the trailing zero!). An open-air ride on the roof-top is a more comfortable and a cheaper mode of journey for the village folk than a bumpy ride on the dusty road. 

As I write this blog, I come to know that the future of this narrow-gauge track is uncertain. At some point of time, there had been a proposal that the Gwalior Light Railway be included in the Unesco's list of world heritage sites as a living example of the engineering enterprise of the 19th century. In the meantime, the maintenance of the narrow-gauge is proving to be difficult. A more recent news is that there is a proposal to convert this track to broad-gauge and integrate with the national rail network, as everywhere else in India.

 

Update: (22-May-2021):

The railway has hit the end of the road. It has been decommissioned and dismantled. Henceforth, it's existence will be in a documentary and some blogs (like this) scattered around. (news).

 

Update: (24-Jan-2023):

Cheetahs (that had been extinct in India) have been reintroduced in the Kuno forest and they seem to be doing fine. (news)

 

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