The Indian Railways is world’s one of the world’s largest transportation network. The entire railways were nationalized in the year 1951, except one line. Shakuntala Railways is the only operational railway lines in India that is still not owned by the government.
The antique train runs on India’s only private railway line between Murtazapur and Yavatmal in Maharashtra, a total distance of 190 km at an average speed of 20 km per hour.
The Shakuntala Railways or Central Province Railway Company (CPRC) was formed during British raj by a private firm called Killick Nixon.
The railway line was used for transporting cotton from Vidharba, and finally to Manchester in England.
During the British Raj, Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) has made a deal with Shakuntala Railways to run its trains and paid compensation or rent to the company. The deal continued even after the GIPR became Central Railways and the British company still gets more than Rs I crore from Indian Railways for running a train on its track.
Shakuntala Express used steam engines till 1994. All the existing rail signals are still from the colonial era and the word ‘Made in Liverpool’ is inscribed on it.
The Shakuntala Railways still use narrow gauge lines and covers one return journey every day. The train takes around 20 hour to cover the 190 km distance between Yavatmal and Achalpur.
