A private railway company started during the British rule in our independent India is still functioning under that company name. The government of India is giving money to the company every year.
India has one of the largest railway networks in the world. Also, India has a prominent place among the countries with the longest operational railway lines in the world. After 150 years of train service in India, Indian Railways is operating with world-class modern facilities. But can you believe that a private railway company started during the British rule in India is still functioning today, yes a railway track in the state of Maharashtra is still owned by a private company. The Indian government has been giving Rs 1 crore annually to the company.
During the British rule in India, a private company called Shakuntala Railway built and ran trains on a 190-kilometer railway line between Yavatmal and Murjitapur in Maharashtra. Railway lines across India were nationalized in 1952 after the country’s independence. But the railway line mentioned above is not the only one overlooked. The railway remains a meter gauge railway till today. Even today only one train service is operated on that meter gauge line.
This train service operates between Yavatmal Achalpur in Amaravati district. It takes 20 hours to cover this distance of 190 km. A fee of 150 rupees is charged for this. For this, the Government of India provides one crore rupees annually to the Sakundala Railway Company. The people there consider this train journey as a heritage journey.
The Shakuntala Railway Company operated a train service for 70 years from 1923 to 1994 using a steam engine built in Manchester, England. Then Indian Railways is currently running diesel engine on that track. Even though the Indian Railways has modernized so much till the Vande Bharat Railway, it is remarkable to keep alive some of the traditional and historic railway lines like this one.
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