Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway

Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway
Overview
OwnerIndian Railways
LocaleRajasthan, India
Termini
Service
Operator(s)North Central Railway
History
Opened1908
Closed31 March 2023
Technical
Line length70 km (43 mi)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
ElectrificationYes

Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway Line is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railway in Dholpur. It was built by Dholpur State during British India. The route length from Sarmathura to Dholpur is 72 km and from Dholpur to Tantpur is 60 km. Mohari is a Junction Station in Dholpur-Sarmathura Railway Line from where the line splits into its spur line towards Tantpur.

History

Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway was sanctioned by the then Maharaja Ram Singh of the Dholpur State on 14 December 1905 and formally opened in February 1908.[citation needed] The original name of the company was Dholpur-Bari Light Railway. It was renamed the Dholpur State Railway in 1914.[1]

The rail initially used steam locomotives, but later diesel locomotives are used.[2] There was only one rake/train which covers to trips per day in this section. Its first trip begins in early morning at around 04:00 hrs and returns at 10:15 hrs. The second trip begins at 10:40 hrs. and ends at around 19:00 hrs. There are many halt stations in this section.[3] The train services on this route was stopped in March 2023.

Rolling stock

In 1936, the company owned six locomotives, eight coaches and 126 goods wagons.[4]

Classification

It was labeled as a Class III railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.[5][6]

Conversion to broad gauge

The gauge conversion work of this section was started in around year 2010 but could not be completed and stopped due to political reasons. The Railways' plan was to connect the railway to Gangapur via Karauli.[7] which could be an alternate route also for connecting the Jhansi and Gangapur.[8]

Narrow Gauge Ticket
Narrow Gauge
Steam Engine Narrow Gauge Train

Railway Administration

This section is under the control of Assistant Divisional Engineer of North Central Railway who is headquartered at Dholpur. He is assisted by a Permanent Way Supervisor and Works Supervisor. All maintenance of all the track and works comes under administrative control. Generally a Group-'A' officer of Engineering Services Examination is posted at this post.

The tenures of Various Officers as Assistant Divisional Engineer in Dholpur is as given below:

Sr. No. Name From To
1 Gaurav Luniwal, IRSE 10/06/2016 15/04/2019
2 Saurabh Singh, IRSE 16/04/2019 06/03/2020
3 Ankit Gupta, IRSE 06/03/2020 Till date

References

  1. ^ "Dholpur-Bari Light Railway". Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. ^ Chauhan, Arvind (26 August 2015). "At Dholpur, the train arrives at your door". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Last narrow-gauge line in plains of north India is counting its days". The Week. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  4. ^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 225.
  5. ^ "Indian Railway Classification". Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. ^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 223–226d.
  7. ^ Sharma, Manoj (17 July 2014). "धौलपुर में १२५ साल पुरानी नेरोगेज ट्रेन, सांसद ने मांगा हेरिटेज का दर्जा". bhaskar.com (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Netas connect Karauli, Dholpur with rail line only during polls". The Times of India. 23 April 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 8 August 2024.