Scindia State Railway
The Scindia State Railway
Broad Gauge (BG) Railway
First known as the Sindia State Railway constructed as a broad gauge(BG) line from Gwalior to Agra and completed in 1881 and also described as the Agra-Gwalior Railway.
The railway, owned by Gwalior Durbar, appears to have been worked independently until 1885 when the Indian Midland Railway (IMR), a state agency, was formed to undertake the working of several existing broad gauge(BG) branch lines.
The IMR worked this line for a short time until amalgamation in 1900 into the Great Indian Peninsula Railway(GIPR) broad gauge(BG) becoming part of the ‘Midland Section GIPR Mainline’[1].
The 1918 Administation Report [1] uses the spelling Scindia State Railway in refering to this broad gauge section of the GIPR network.
Further BG Information
Up to 1885 see Sindia State Railway
1885 to 1900 see Indian Midland Railway
From 1900 see Great Indian Peninsula Railway
Narrow Gauge (NG) Railway
The Gwalior Light Railway, a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) network became the Scindia State Railway in 1942.
The 1918 Administration Reports states “The Gwalior Light Railway was the property of the Gwalior Durbar by whom it was constructed and is maintained, stocked and worked. The working of the trains and traffic of the line was under the control of the Great Indian Peninsula RailwayCompany up to 30 June 1913”[2].
In 1942 the Gwalior Light Railway Lines were a total line length 249 miles(473km)
- ’Gwalior-Sipri Section’, 2ft (610mm) NG, from Gwalior to Sipri, opened 1899, 74 miles(118km) [2]
- ’Gwalior-Bhind Section’, 2ft (610mm) NG, from Gwalior to Bhind, opened 1899, 52 miles(83km) [2]
- ’Gwalior-Sheopur Kalan Section’, 2ft (610mm) NG, Gwalior to Sabalgarh, opened 1904; reaching Sheopur Kalan, 1909, 124 miles(200km) [2]
- 'Ujjain-Agar Branch Railway', opened 1932 as part of GLR. Approximate line length 44 miles(72km)
The railway was renamed Scindia State Railway in 1942 after the Scindia family who ruled Gwalior until India's independence [3].
Following partition in 1947, the Scindia State Railway came under the control of the Government of India on 1 August 1950 with a route length of 294 miles(473km). The railway became part of the Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways on 5 November 1951 [4].
The ’Gwalior-Sipri Section’; the 'Gwalior-Bhind Section’ and the Ujjain-Agar Branch Railway have apparently all closed.
Modern reports indicate that only the ’Gwalior-Sheopur-Kalan Section’, 2ft (610mm) NG, was working in 2009 as part of the Indian Railways service. A distance of 124 miles through the suburbs of Gwalior to Sheopur Kalan [5].
Further NG Information
Prior to 1942 see Gwalior Light Railway
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 65 (pdf73); Retrieved 15 Dec 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 242 (pdf251); Retrieved 15 Dec 2016
- ↑ Wikipedia “Scindia” ; Retrieved 15 Dec 2016
- ↑ “Indian Railways – Railway Board “Evolution of Indian Railways” ; Retrieved 15 Dec 2016
- ↑ “Upper Class to Sheopur Kalan by Vikas Chander posted 6 Feb 2014); Retrieved 15 Dec 2016