A Survivor in Rajasthan
Steve Sedgwick visited an Indian metre-gauge line full of character that has survived threats of closure.
The closure of Indian narrow gauge lines reported in NGW155 reminded me of a fortuitous visit in 2020 to one of the last remnants of India’s once huge metre-gauge network. The line is still operated by Indian Railways and connects Marwar Junction and Mavli Junction in the western state of Rajasthan.
This was once part of the direct metre-gauge route between the ancient cities of Johdpur and Udaipur. Rajasthan is now a state of broad-gauge lines with scant reminders of its metre-gauge heyday.
I travelled from Phulad to Khambli Ghat and soon saw why this line had not succumbed to gauge conversion. First, with only two trains a day each way in a rural area, passenger numbers are low. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the line between the two stations has to climb the escarpment of the Aravalli Hills. It is steeply graded and tightly curved and passes through ecologically sensitive areas. It would be massively expensive to replace it with a broad-gauge line.
Phulad station is at the foot of the escarpment. It is a small, sleepy place but around midday it is where the north- and south-bound trains pass. The sleepiness is shaken off, replaced for 20 minutes or so by the usual colourful animation of Indian stations with passengers pushing and shoving amidst wandering cows and vendors.
The track layout is curious with four parallel lines. Rather than being a through station, these tracks end in a headshunt and buffers. Here all locos must detach and run round their trains before continuing onwards. Trains are now hauled by the once ubiquitous YDM4 metregauge diesel locos, five allocated to the shed at Malvi Junction.
“It would be massively expensive to replace it with a broad-gauge line...”
Leaving the station, the track to Marwar turns sharply to the left across the plains. The route up the escarpment is on the right and immediately starts to climb. There is a spur with a sand trap to protect the station from runaways.
Steep climb
The line then climbs steeply across the front of the escarpment following a giant hairpin alignment helped by several large viaducts and small tunnels. A midway halt is thronged by monkeys waiting for treats from visitors to an isolated nearby temple.
The climb continues through jungle with views out over the plains of Rajasthan. At the crest the line turns away from the jungle onto a harsh rocky plateau before arriving at Khambli Ghat.
This is another small town. However, the extensive yard and abandoned housing of its former railway colony points to it once being an important point on the line.
Closure of the line has been threatened and even temporarily carried out. On the other hand, Indian railways have earmarked this and a small number of other metre-gauge survivors for possible tourist development. Only time will tell which plan succeeds.