Mumbai: Western Railway’s heritage railroads will be preserved

A train on the Bilimora-Waghai section. Pic/Harish Kumar

The heritage is safe! Over a month after the Indian Railways ordered the closure of 11 narrow-gauge railway lines, Western Railway has announced that three of them, including an 107-year-old railroad, will now be preserved.

In its December 16 edition, mid-day had reported that the Indian Railways' board on December 10 wrote to the general manager of Western Railway (WR), ordering permanent closure of 11 "uneconomic branch lines" and narrow-gauge sections, including three in Gujarat. Last year's order was a U-turn from the board's 2018 direction to preserve the three lines.

However, a fresh order was issued on January 29, stating that based on consultations, a decision has been made to retain three heritage lines -- over a century old, 63-km Waghai-Bilimora railroad in Gujarat, 38-km Miyagam-Choranda-Malsar, and 19-km Charonda-Moti Karal stretches.

The order states that these lines be preserved to the extent possible, ensuring that it does not affect the conversion to Broad Gauge as an alternative route. Western Railway has inherited a large number of narrow-gauge lines mostly spread in Gujarat. Many were built with contributions from native rulers of that time. Not many countries have such varied lines, old rail operations technology and trains of different gauge.