INDIAN RAILWAYS..!

The Indian Railways

The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.
The formal inauguration ceremony was performed on 16th April 1853, when 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns." The first passenger train steamed out of Howrah station
destined for Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles, on 15th August, 1854. Thus the first section of the East Indian Railway was opened to public traffic, inaugurating the beginning of railway transport on the Eastern side of the subcontinent.
In south the first line was opened on Ist July, 1856 by the Madras Railway Company. It ran between Vyasarpadi Jeeva Nilayam (Veyasarpandy) and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3rd March 1859. The first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantonment was opened to traffic on 19th October,1875.
These were the small’s beginnings which is due course developed into a network of railway lines all over the country. By 1880 the Indian Railway system had a route mileage of about 9000 miles. INDIAN RAILWAYS, the premier transport organization of the country is the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest under one management.

Other Interesting facts of Indian Railways :

Indian Railways runs around
11,000 trains everyday, of which 7,000 are passenger trains
Also Indian Railways have :

7566 - locomotives 37,840 - Coaching vehicles 222,147 - Freight wagons 6853 - Stations
300 - Yards 2300-Good sheds 700 - Repair shops 1.54 million - Work force

Territorial Readjustment of Zones and In-House Reforms :
In order to bring about greater efficiency in administration, speedy implementation of on-going projects, better customer care, reduction of workload on General Managers etc., Indian Railways have decided to create seven new zones by territorial re-adjustment of existing zones. The new zones, having limited financial burden on Railways, will have thin and lean, efficient and modern administrative set up. Two of the new zones have already started functioning.

National Rail Vikas Yojana
With a view to complete strategically important projects within a stipulated period of time, a non-budgetary investment initiative for the development of Railways has been launched.. Under the scheme all the capacity bottlenecks in the critical sections of the railway network will be removed at an investment of Rs.15,000 crore over the next five years. These projects would include:

1. Strengthening of the golden Quadrilateral to run more long-distance mail/express and freight trains at a higher speed of 100km/h.

2. Strengthening of rail connectivity to ports and development of multi-modal corridors to hinterland.

3. Construction of four mega bridges - two over River Ganga, one over River Brahmaputra, and one over River Kosi.

4. Accelerated completion of those projects nearing completion and other important projects.

New Trends in Passenger Amenities :
To take care of the unreserved segment of the passengers, a new pilot project on computer based unreserved ticketing has been launched this year. Of the 13 million passengers served by the network everyday, nearly 12 million are unreserved passengers. To cater to this huge segment, computer based ticketing systems has been launched for all stations in Delhi area and in due course throughout the country. With this, unreserved tickets can be issued even from locations other than the boarding station and will reduce crowds at booking offices and stations.
Special Trains of Indian railways :
History
The luxury train service was started in March 2010. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and Cox and Kings India Ltd., had signed a joint venture to set up a company called Royale Indian Rail Tours Ltd. (RIRTL) to oversee the functioning and management of the Maharaja Express. This joint venture was terminated on 12 August 2011 and the train is now being operated exclusively by IRCTC

Facilities
The Maharajas' Express train has been equipped with modern amenities to offer comfortable on board experiences to the guest, such as pneumatic suspension, live television, wifi, attached bathroom, dining cars, bar, lounge and souvenir shop. Larger cabins have roll-top baths and spacious sitting rooms.
Carriages
The train comprises 23 carriages which include accommodation, dining, bar, lounge, generator and store cars. Accommodation is available in 14 guest carriages with total passenger capacity of 88. The train also has a lounge called the Rajah Club with a private bar, two dining cars and a dedicated bar car. An on-board souvenir boutique offers memorabilia for passengers.The train is also equipped with a water filtration plant

Cabin Configuration
• 5 Deluxe Cars
• 6 Junior Suite Cars
• 2 Suite Cars
• 1 Presidential Suite car
• 1 Bar car and 1 Lounge Car
• 2 Restaurant cars
• 1 Kitchen Car
• 1 Staff Coach
• 1 Executive Managers & Tour Managers Coach
Room Category Twin Double Total Cabins/Suites Passenger Capacity Sq Ft Area (per cabin)
Deluxe Cabins 15 5 20 40 112
Junior Suites 12 6 18 36 150
Suites – 4 4 8 220 coaches
Presidential Suite – 1 4 4 448
Total 27 15 43 88 –
Guest cabins

14 carriages with 43 individual cabins provide seating and sleeping capacity for 88 guests. There are 20 Deluxe Cabins, 18 Junior Suites, 4 Suites and a Presidential Suite offering 5-star equivalent accommodation. Both the Suites and the Presidential suite has a bathtub in the toilet, in addition to the bath cubicle.
LCD televisions, eco-friendly toilets, direct dial phones, DVD player, internet, individual climate control and electronic safes are available in each guest cabin.
There are 5 carriages in the category of Deluxe Cabins, a total of 20 cabins accommodating 40 passengers (there are 12 Twin bed cabins and 8 double bed cabins). There are a total of 18 cabins in the category of Junior Suites, accommodating 36 passengers (there are 12 Twin bed Cabins and 6 Double bed cabins). Additionally, there are four Suites available, having large separate sitting and sleeping areas. A Presidential suite built on an entire rail carriage, incorporating a separate sitting-cum-dining room, a master bedroom and bathroom with shower and bathtub, a twin bedroom and bathroom with shower. The Maharajas' Express Presidential Suite is the first such a rail carriage of its kind in the world for commercial us.

Dining and bar coaches

The train has two dining cars designed for full five dining service, each with a seating capacity of 42 guests at a time so that all the guests dine together. The train has a state of the art kitchen car designed to provide a range of cuisines. The restaurants are named Rang Mahal and Mayur Mahal. Mayur Mahal (the Peacock restaurant) has peacock feather theme in its décor. Restaurant menus include traditional Indian cuisines along with Continental, Chinese and International cuisines
A dedicated bar carriage, the Rajah Club, offers wines, liqueurs, spirits and beers along with snacks and starters and a lounge cum bar called the Safari bar equipped with a multilingual library and board games offers a casual lounge experience. The tariff includes drinks on board, the drinks served in the bar are IMFL ( Indian Manufactured foreign Liquor)

Itineraries:
In the year 2012, IRCTC introduced five new journeys of the Maharajas' Express, of which two are short-term Golden Triangle (Delhi, Jaipur and Agra) tours and rest three are week-long pan-Indian voyages.
The tours offered by Maharaja’s Express:

Heritage of India
Duration: 7 Nights / 8 Days
Destinations Covered: Mumbai – Ajanta – Udaipur – Jodhpur – Bikaner – Jaipur – Ranthambore – Agra - Delhi

Treasures of India
Duration: 3 nights / 4 days
Destinations Covered: Delhi – Agra – Ranthambore – Jaipur – Delhi.

Gems of India
Duration: 3 Nights / 4 Days
Destinations Covered: Delhi – Agra – Ranthambore – Jaipur – Delhi

Indian Panorama
Duration: 7 Nights / 8 Days
Destinations Covered: Delhi – Jaipur – Ranthambore – Fatehpur Sikri – Agra – Gwalior – Orchha – Khajuraho – Varanasi – Lucknow – Delhi

The Indian Splendour
Duration: 7 Nights OR 8 Days
Destinations Covered: Delhi – Agra – Ranthambore – Jaipur – Bikaner – Jodhpur – Udaipur – Balasinor – Mumbai

Awards & Recognition
• Voted World Leading Luxury Train at World Travel Award 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015[9]
• 1st Runner up in the Specialist Train Operators Category at Condenast Travellers Reader Choice Awards 2011
• Adjudged Best Luxury Train at CNBC Travel Awards 2010

Deccan odyssey

THE DECCAN ODYSSEY TRAIN
Deccan Odyssey comprises of 21 luxuriously appointed coaches. Out of these 21 coaches, 11 are to accommodate guests and the rest are used for different purposes such as dining, lounge, conference car and health spa. Inspired by the imperial carriages used by the Maharajas of the yore for traveling, each of the coaches of this luxury train is inspired from a different royal eras of Maharashtra ruled by diverse dynasties.
All the cabins of Deccan Odyssey are fully equipped with facilities like air-conditioning, internet connectivity and personalized guest amenities that make sure that your journey would be a comfortable and memorable one. Moreover, the multi-cuisine restaurant, well stocked bar, high-tech conference cart and a spa & massage cabin onboard add on the colors of merriment to your entire jaunt.

About the Train
Facilities
The Deccan Odyssey offers accommodation in 40 deluxe cabins in 10 coaches. It also has 4 presidential suites in 2 cars, 1 Conference car with business center, 2 restaurants, a well stocked bar and a spa with steam, massage, a mini gym and a parlor. Other facilities include a library, 6 Channels DVD for your viewing pleasure at the lounges and 6 Channels of Music in each cabins.

Accommodation
10 fully air-conditioned Deluxe Cabin saloons, each with combination of 4 twin bedded chambers and 2 fully air-conditioned Presidential Suite saloons each with 2 suites with combination of living room & bed room. Saloons are equipped with channel music, intercom, player, attached toilets, running hot and cold water, shower, wall-to-wall carpeting and other amenities.

Destinations
The Deccan Odyssey offers 6 different itineraries consisting of 8 days and 7 nights. The itineraries are named as Maharashtra Splendor, Indian Odyssey, Indian Sojourn, Jewels Of The Deccan, Hidden Treasures Of Gujarat and Maharashtra A Wild Trail.

Maharashtra Splendor
The journey begins from Mumbai to Goa via Nashik, Ajanta Ellora Caves, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg and back.
Indian Odyssey
This tour starts from New Delhi and travels to Sawai Madhopur, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Vadodara, Ellora Caves, then ends in Mumbai.

Indian Sojourn
This is just the upside down version of Indian Odyssey which begins from Mumbai up to New Delhi in earlier mentioned route.

Jewels Of The Deccan
This expedition starts from Mumbai and moves to Bijapur, Aihole, Pattadakal, Hampi, Hyderabad, Ellora Ajanta Caves and finally back to Mumbai.

Hidden Treasures Of Gujarat
This amazing journey to witness the beauty of Gujarat also begins from Mumbai followed by Vadodara, Palitana, Gir, Little Rann of Kutch, Modhera, Nashik and back to Mumbai.

Maharashtra A Wild Trail
This tour which helps you to enjoy Maharashtra in depth starts at Mumbai CST and move towards Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Pench (Ramtek), Tadoba, Ajanta Caves, Nashikand finally back to Mumbai.

The Garib Rath Express :

The Garib Rath Express is a no-frills air-conditioned train started by the Indian Railways in 2005 to provide subsidized price air-conditioned long distance travel to passengers who could not afford standard fares of air conditioned class in regular-fare trains. As the fares are less than two-thirds of the fares for air conditioned classes in other trains, the distance between each seat or berth is less, the seats and berths are narrower and each coach has more seats and berths than in air-conditionedcoaches in other trains. Only seating and three-tier (78 seats) accommodation is provided in Garib Rath. The passengers are not provided free bedding or food.It is significantly slower than super-fast express trains. The maximum speed of Garib Rath trains is around 130Kmph. The maiden journey of the train started from Saharsa, Bihar to Amritsar, Punjab (Saharsa Amritsar Garib Rath Express).
The Marvels Of Indian Railways:
The another speciality of Indian railways is Pamban bridge located at south india at rameshwaram.

1. Efforts were taken for the construction of the bridge as early as the 1870s with the British administration planning to expand trade connectivity to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon.
   However, the construction of the rail bridge commenced only by 1911 and it was commissioned on February 24, 1914.

2. It is an engineering marvel that evokes awe! Few can forget a train journey on the Pamban bridge, connecting Rameswaram island to the mainland.With 143 piers, spanning 2 km between the mainland and the island, it is the second longest sea bridge in India after the 2.3-km Bandra-Worli sea link on Mumbai's western coast.
   

3. German engineer Scherzer designed the central part of the bridge that opens up to allow ferry movement. On an average, 10 to 15 boats and small ships pass beneath the bridge every month.

4. In 1964, the bridge survived a major cyclone that flattened Dhanushkodi, a thriving port town.
   E Sreedharan, the man behind the construction of the Delhi Metro, played a major role in bolstering the bridge within 46 days.
   

5. The bridge was further strengthened in 2009 for running goods traffic.
   Indian Railways is vying to bring the bridge in the Unesco's world heritage list.

6. As India's first sea bridge, it has also become a tourist attraction by itself as people watch in awe when the two leaves of the bridge open up to let ships to pass through.

The another engineering marvel of Indian railway is the longest rail tunnel located in northern india situated in Jammu & Kashmir.

Railways have been known for achieving engineering feats. Another example of their engineering prowess is the 11-km-long tunnel across the treacherous Pir Panjal mountain range on the Banihal-Qazigund railway line in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the longest such transportation passage in India and second longest in Asia.

About 1,300 workers and 150 engineers worked tirelessly overcoming all odds for the last seven years to accomplish the engineering marvel. The tunnel is totally water proof and equipped with a fire fighting system across the entire length of the tunnel.

Chenab Bridge :

Arguably one of the toughest engineering challenges in hand, Railways plans to complete the Chenab bridge in Jammu and Kashmir by 2016, making it the world's highest rail bridge.

The arch-shaped bridge across Chenab river-bed in Reasi district, which will be five times the height of Qutab Minar at 359 m above river bed, will connect Baramulla and Srinagar to Jammu via Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund covering the entire route in about seven hours.

The 1,315-m-long engineering marvel would boast of several unique features. The design would ensure that it withstands blast and seismic activities, while the signalling arrangements would ensure the train does not encounter high wind velocity at that height.

Diamond crossing :

They are extremely rare and the most famous one, the Diamond Crossing at Nagpur is a Double Diamond Railway crossing formed by two double lines crossing each other. A lot has been said about this particular point, as the point where lines from the North, South, East and West meet and also, even as the center point of India! It is easy for such things to propagate, especially since the advent of the Internet. The real fact is that it is neither.
First, only three major rail lines meet at Nagpur junction railway station. One comes from the east, from Gondia, the Howrah – Rourkela – Raipur line. The other comes from the north, from New Delhi. The last one goes towards the South, carrying trains to both the west and the south. This line splits into two separate lines to the west (Mumbai) and the South (Kazipet) only at Wardha, some 80 km away. And only one of these lines form part of the diamond crossing, the Gondia line. The other ser of tracks forming the diamond crossing is only a service branch line from the Nagpur Freight yard which lies parallel to the passenger platforms and not even a main line. The Diamond Crossing is formed when this service line crosses over the Gondia line to join the main line towards Delhi. Sadly, it is kind of an anti-climax.
In fact, it is not even the only Diamond Crossing in India. There is one more right smack in the middle of Delhi! There was another one at Dhanbad junction which was dismantled. There also used to be a perfect 90-degree Diamond Crossing in the new-defunct old Ernakulam Terminus as well.
The British considered Nagpur as the geographic center point of undivided India and erected the zero-mile marker there, but once India was partitioned this shifted and now as per official records the center point of India lies in a forest somewhere near Jabalpur. This village “Karondi” lies is nearest to it.
Now, railway-wise, the “real” point where the North, East, South and West of India meet is at Itarsi Junction railway station, MP. Lines from the North (towards Agra – Delhi), South (towards Nagpur), East (Jabalpur – Allahabad and then Howrah) and West (Khandwa – Mumbai) meet at Itarsi. It also is “center-ish” to India, so guess, that will do.

International rail relations:
There are presently 3 trains run by Indian Railways,which crosses the International border.
1.Samjautha Express-From Delhi to Atari in India and Atari to Wagah in Pakistan.
2.Maitree express-From Kolkata to Gede in India and Here to Dhaka in Bangladesh.
3.Thar express- From Bhagat Ki Kothi(Jodhpur) to Munabao in India and from Munabao to Karachi in Pakistan.
In old days,there were more of such trains and routes.Those routes are presently lying unused/abandoned.
It should also be noted that a new railway line is now being built from Agartala to Dhaka. Also,there is a news that China wants to build a railway line to Pakistan,via India.

India has 4th largest largest railway network(Only behind United States, China & Russia) with 115,000 km of track and 7,112 stations. Indian railways has also been included in the list of Top 10 employers of the World. With time, Indian Railways has been introducing new trains to benefit the tourists across India. There are some luxurious trains in important tourist cities of India as well as some scenic Toy trains like Kalka-Shimla Toy Train. Indian Railways will soon start its services for Gatimaan Express which is said to be the fastest train in India. Today we are going to tell you about 8 Best Double Decker Trains in India.
3 International Train Routes from India
India has a large rail network across the country. Off late India has expanded its railway network with neighboring countries like Paksitan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Indian Railways is also planning for an installation of rail system in southern Bhutan.
Train Route between India and Pakistan
As a matter of fact, before partition there were 8 rail links between India and Pakistan(Part of India at that time). Now there are just 2 rail links between India and Pakistan which are currently active.

Samjhauta Express Crossing India Pakistan Border
First one is at Wagah , called Samjhauta Express between Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan. You can see a glimpse of this train in Superhit Bollywood movies like Veer Zaara, Bajrangi The services for the second train Thar Express was started in 2006 that runs between Munabao(in Rajasthan,India) and Khokhrapar(In Sindh, Pakistan).

Thar Express :
There are other rail links which are discussed for implementation in future. These routes are Ferozepur–Samasata, Ferozepur–Lahore, Amritsar–Lahore, Amritsar–Sialkot and Jammu–Sialkot.
Train Route between India and Bangladesh
After Bangladesh was created there was a change in the routes through Siliguri Corridor of many trains between Assam and Bengal. At present there are 3 rail routes between India and Bangladesh.

Maitree Express :
The main passenger rail route i.e., Maitree Express runs 2 times a week between Kolkata in India and Dhaka in Bangladesh. The second train is between Mahisasan (Mohishashon) and Shahbazpur. The third rail route is between Radhikapur and Birol. A rail route between Akhaura in Bangladesh and Agartala in India is also approved by Government of India.

Train Route between India and Nepal
At present there are 2 rail routes between India and Nepal. First one is a broad gauge route between Raxaul Jn., Bihar–Sirsiya, Parsa and another one is narrow gauge route between Jaynagar, Bihar–Khajuri, Dhanusa.
Proposed Train Routes

1. Indian Railways is also planning to build the highest railway track in the world even taller than the Beijing-Lhasa Railway Line.
2. Indian Railways has also been planning the rail system between southern Bhutan and India.
3. Rail Route between Manipur, India and Burma is under construction.
4. It is also said that the Central Government is considering a rail route from Manipur to Vietnam Via Burma.
5. Indian Railways in collaboration with rail authorities in China is interested in starting a High Speed Rail link between New Delhi in India and Kunming in China Via Myanmar.
6. A rail route to Thailand is also possible if Burma Railway is rebuilt. This would also give proper connectivity to Malaysia and Singapore as well.