Madhya Pradesh bids adieu to 150-year-old heritage railroad

Passengers boarded the last train to ply on the 150 years old heritage railroad route in Madhya Pradesh on January 31, 2023. Train movement on the said track in the western Madhya Pradesh zone was flagged off to facilitate its conversion into broad gauge. The last train train was greeted with much pomp and show and the train’s loco pilot Daulatram Meena was welcomed with garlands. 

This train was an easy and convenient means of commuting between Mhow (Dr Ambedkar Nagar) and Indore. Passengers will now have to switch to bus as second best option.

As per the officials at Western Railways, the line has been closed indefinitely due to the ongoing conversion of the 90-km line between Mhow, Omkareshwar and Khandwa into broad gauge. Roughly there are 4 types of railway gauges used in India, namely broad gauge, metre Gauge, narrow gauge, and standard gauge. The distance between the two tracks in broad railway gauges is 1676 mm (5 ft 6 in). Broad gauges provide better stability and are used to carry heavier load.

After the Patalpani-Kalakund section of the metre gauge between Mhow and Khandwa was declared a heritage track, the railways had started the Mhow-Kalakund-Mhow heritage train from December 25, 2018.

Back in 1870 (153 years ago), the Holkar rulers had given a loan of ₹1 crore to the British government for laying a line connecting their capital Indore to Khandwa. It took the British government 4 years to complete the project and finally start the Khandwa-Sanawar section of this line on December 1, 1874.

As per Railway officials, this line was used to connect North India with South India and major passenger trains like Jaipur-Purna Meenakshi Express, Ajmer-Khandwa Express, and Jaipur-Kacheguda Mail plied on this track.