Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway Explained

Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway
Dholpur State Railway
Image Alt:A narrow gauge diesel locomotive
Locale:Rajasthan, India
Start:Dholpur Junction railway station
End:Sarmathura railway station
Open:1908
Close:31 March 2023
Owner:Indian Railways
Operator:North Central Railway
Electrification:Yes
Linelength Km:70

Dholpur–Sarmathura Railway is a 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 Line from where the line splits into it's 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. 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 on 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]

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
1Gaurav Luniwal, IRSE10/06/201615/04/2019
2Saurabh Singh, IRSE16/04/201906/03/2020
3Ankit Gupta, IRSE06/03/2020Till date

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dholpur-Bari Light Railway . 16 November 2022. en.
  2. Web site: At Dholpur, the train arrives at your door. Chauhan. Arvind. 26 August 2015. The Times of India. 21 January 2018.
  3. Web site: Last narrow-gauge line in plains of north India is counting its days . 2024-08-08 . The Week . en.
  4. Book: World Survey of Foreign Railways . 1936 . Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.. English . 225.
  5. Web site: Indian Railway Classification . 16 November 2022. en.
  6. Book: World Survey of Foreign Railways . 1936 . Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C.. English . 223–226d.
  7. Web site: धौलपुर में १२५ साल पुरानी नेरोगेज ट्रेन, सांसद ने मांगा हेरिटेज का दर्जा. Sharma. Manoj. 17 July 2014. bhaskar.com. hi. 18 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160323223254/http://www.bhaskar.com/news-srh/c-10-1872380-NOR.html. 23 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  8. News: 2019-04-23 . Netas connect Karauli, Dholpur with rail line only during polls . 2024-08-08 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.