Rail service and travel by rail in the Indian subcontinent

[jis]

Just came across this "Midnight Railfanning" video. This is at a station named Durgauti on the Grand Chord section of the Howrah (Kolkata) Delhi route, section completed around 1911, which is soon to host 160kph (100mphy) service. Currently trains are limited to 130kph (~80mph) pending completion of fencing to get sealed corridor which IR requires for operating above 80mph. Grand Chord in this area is 5 tracks, 3 for higher speed passenger traffic and 2 tracks dedicated to freight traffic.

We see a parade of overnight Express trains including the so called "King" (Howrah Rajdhani) and "Queen" (Sealdah Rajdhani) of Eastern Railway, and of course @caravanman's Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani too. There is no commentary, only subtitles describing which train powered by what loco type (all WAP-7 you can lookup on Wikipedia) from which homing shed... Enjoy



The codes used to identify loco sheds are as follows:

CNB - Kanpur (Home of the famous IIT Kanpur alma mater of a few of the IT company CEOs in the US)
GZB - Ghaziabad (across the river from Delhi)
HWH - Howrah (across the river from Kolkata, the busiest and largest station in India)
TATA - Tatanagar (the original steel city set up by the Tata's early in the 20th Century)
GMO - Gomoh (a major Junction on the Grand Chord)

Other things one could notice:

• Howrah Rajdhani carries a full Parcel/Mail Van, so current name notwithstanding in old days it would have been called a "Mail" train.
• In some sections of the video you see new electrification stanchions awaiting further installation. These are part of the re-electrification project for this entire route to bring it upto 200kph (125mph capability. This includes installing catenary with shorter span and using the new higher power capacity 2x25kV system
• This entire video was shot within a span of a little less than 2 hours, and it did not included several other slower trains and freights that passed by there during that period, which gives you a sense of intensity of service. Also most of the freight traffic is not shown at all since they run on the DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor) which is adjacent to these tracks and is not shown in this video. Usually there is a freight train every 5 minutes or so.
• The standardization of equipment that is on display is impressive. All LHB passenger cars and parcel/mail vans and all single class of electric locomotive.

 

[caravanman]

Nice to see, but a little surprised not to see any "green lights" shown by the platform staff? They seem a feature of most Indian train stations, either a flag or a lamp shown to passing trains.
I will lay claim to the "King" also, having travelled on that too.

 

[cirdan]

We see a parade of overnight Express trains including the so called "King" (Howrah Rajdhani) and "Queen" (Sealdah Rajdhani) of Eastern Railway,

Just a question of general and linguistic interest here.

Those terms are obviously not literal translations.

Is there any background to English names differing from the literal meaning of equivalent names in Hindi and other Indian languages? Does this not lead to confusion?

 

[jis]

Nice to see, but a little surprised not to see any "green lights" shown by the platform staff? They seem a feature of most Indian train stations, either a flag or a lamp shown to passing trains.
I will lay claim to the "King" also, having travelled on that too.

I suspect that the Station Master or his agent was behind the people taking the videos. They were located very close to the end of the platform looking away from the station. You can see all the locos with their flashing green, and the Guard would have his flashing green displayed through the platform side window. No flags at night. Additional places where the train would have passed flashing green lights are at the two Signal Cabins which would be Durgauti East and Durgauti West respectively controlling the interlocking plant at the two ends of the station.

Incidentally Durgauti is the last but one station in the State of Bihar heading westwards. The next station Karamnasha is the border station between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP) The border is crossed at the Karamnasha River bridge. We do sometimes tend to forget that India is actually a federation of States and Union Territories.

Just a question of general and linguistic interest here.

Those terms are obviously not literal translations.

Is there any background to English names differing from the literal meaning of equivalent names in Hindi and other Indian languages? Does this not lead to confusion?

The "King" and "Queen" are railfan names for those trains and has nothing to do with official names. Trains have only one official name. They do not have multiple names in different languages.

Rajdhani simply means Capital. These trains connect the State Capital of each state with the National Capital New Delhi. Kolkata is the Capital of the State of West Bengal. Because of its size it rates twice daily Rajdhani. Mumbai has the most at 3.5 daily Rajdhanis

Of the commonly mentioned train type names...

• Shatabdi - Centenary first introduced on the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India
• Vande Bharat - Praise Bharat or India (Bharat is the native name from the times of the epic Mahabharat and Bhagvad Gita, of what in Occidental languages is known as India or something like it. That is why the word India appears nowhere in the National Anthem which sings the glory of the "dispenser of India's destiny". The phrase used is Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (Bengali, Sanskrit, Hindi))
• Garib Rath - Chariot for the Poor - low fare AC service
• Duronto - Uninterrupted (Bengali word), train with few stops
• Jan Shatabdi - People's Shatabdi, has some non AC accommodation

etc..

In addition many individual trains have all sorts of colorful names sometimes in English, sometimes in local languages.

Examples of English names are: Deccan Queen, Coalfield Express, Black Diamond Express, Steel Express, Golden Temple Mail etc.

Names in local language examples: Poorva Express, Pashchim Express, Dakshin Express, Geetanjali Express, Coromandal Express, Agnibeena Express, Padatik Express, Mithila Express, Saraighat Express, etc.

Bangladesh has many trains with Bengali names. Pakistan has many trains with Urdu names and some with English names.

 

[caravanman]

This video might give folk a flavour of Indian train travel. It is in Hindi, but one can use the "subtitles" button to translate most of the commentary into English, sort of...
This Youtube channel has diverse Indian trips, he likes coach travel also. Always a happy chappy too!

MUMBAI to DELHI in VANDE RAJDHANI | FIRST AC journey

 

[jis]

New Delhi Railway Station is going to be completely rebuilt without shutting it down (contrary to earlier reports). The Design has been finalized, permits obtained and tenders issued. Here is an artists rendition of what the new incarnation of NDLS (New Delhi Railways Station) will look like (photo linked from Indian Express newspaper):

The two globes sit right over the 16 platform tracks. All the access roads are elevated. There is vast pedestrian access concourse at ground level. The main concourse is one level above the track/platform. Above that there is open space 40'-50' upto the transparent dome with 4 floors of office and passenger facilities space surrounding the central open area. It should be quite impressive.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Wow, that is pretty space age. Honestly don't know if I like it (India has a lot of excellent modern architects...) or not. But it will certainly be something.

 

[jis]

This video might give folk a flavour of Indian train travel. It is in Hindi, but one can use the "subtitles" button to translate most of the commentary into English, sort of...
This Youtube channel has diverse Indian trips, he likes coach travel also. Always a happy chappy too!

MUMBAI to DELHI in VANDE RAJDHANI | FIRST AC journey

It gives a flavor of upper class train travel in India, a bit overhyped specific to this train. Actually the service in AC First Class on the Rajdhani Expresses are pretty similar, food cooked on board and served at your seat in nice tableware. Relatively few trains have AC First Class at all. Often the highest class available on a train is mostly AC 3 Tier, with some trains carrying an AC 2 Tier.

The two locomotives on this train is mainly to avoid having to add a banker and then remove it for climbing the 1 in 37 ramp up from the coastal planes to the Deccan Plateau between Kasara and Igatpuri on this longer Central Railway route via Bhusaval and Itarsi. And of course it also gives better performance on the flats. It still is a longer schedule than the Mumbai Delhi Rajdhanis that operate on the Western Railway route via Kota.

Most of India still travels in non-AC 3 Tier Sleeper and General Second Class. When IR tried to convert things to all AC there was massive opposition finally leading to IR backing off and starting to introduce a new class of non-AC trains called Amrit Bharat. People are still bitching about general trains having too many AC cars! It is all driven by the higher AC fares which most lower middle class and the general population do not wish to spend money on. Anyway, so now there are fully AC Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and similar trains, the most used classic trains and even some Durontos with mixed AC and non-AC accommodation, and the new class of pure non-AC trains. Complexities of everything in India can be mind boggling.

 

[caravanman]

It gives a flavor of upper class train travel in India, a bit overhyped specific to this train. Actually the service in AC First Class on the Rajdhani Expresses are pretty similar, food cooked on board and served at your seat in nice tableware. Relatively few trains have AC First Class at all. Often the highest class available on a train is mostly AC 3 Tier, with some trains carrying an AC 2 Tier.

Indeed, I was meaning more to refer to the overall LD train travel experience in India. The platforms, the stalls, filming from the open doors as the train speeds along, as well as the onboard catering.
I guess if one is a "Youtube" vlogger, showing everyday stuff is not going to attract so many views, and therefore earn less income.
I have travelled in 1st and AC2 coaches mostly myself, and have never experienced quite the "posh" levels shown by this rolling stock, nor such polite serving staff.

 

[caravanman]

New Delhi Railway Station is going to be completely rebuilt without shutting it down (contrary to earlier reports). The Design has been finalized, permits obtained and tenders issued. Here is an artists rendition of what the new incarnation of NDLS (New Delhi Railways Station) will look like

Gosh, that design is certainly unexpected. I can't quite see where my usual Paharganj cheapo Delhi digs would be? Looks like the traffic has thinned out a lot too...

Seriously though, what is the main impetus for the modernisation? Is it for "train operating requirements", such as track, signaling, and platform alterations, or more for staff and passengers convenience? I guess if the new structure sits above the existing tracks, it is more the latter?

 

[jis]

Gosh, that design is certainly unexpected. I can't quite see where my usual Paharganj cheapo Delhi digs would be? Looks like the traffic has thinned out a lot too...

Seriously though, what is the main impetus for the modernisation? Is it for "train operating requirements", such as track, signaling, and platform alterations, or more for staff and passengers convenience? I guess if the new structure sits above the existing tracks, it is more the latter?

Mostly a quantum leap in passenger facilities. The stations will also include a more full fledged hotel in lieu of the current retiring rooms and such.

Pedestrian access to the station will be at ground level while auto traffic and parking etc, will be one level up, so no hurdle race with cars to get to the station on feet.

 

[Trollopian]

New Delhi Railway Station is going to be completely rebuilt without shutting it down (contrary to earlier reports). The Design has been finalized, permits obtained and tenders issued. Here is an artists rendition of what the new incarnation of NDLS (New Delhi Railways Station) will look like (photo linked from Indian Express newspaper):

The India Express article from which JIS pasted the futuristic concept photo doesn't have any images of the current station, so I hunted for one. Here's the Wikipedia entry on the current station: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi_railway_station. (Which, oddly, hasn't yet been updated to reflect the proposed reconstruction.)

An extract: "Until the 1950s, the Old Delhi railway station was the main station in Delhi. The official inauguration of the one platform New Delhi railway station took place in 1956. The station building at Paharganj was the first in India to have common station facilities for all classes of passengers including a common entry and exit. With the station meeting its saturation limit as early as the 1970s, there have been continuous efforts over the decades to decongest the station including the rail traffic...."

The current 1950s-vintage station doesn't seem to have much architectural merit, but the Old Delhi station appears to be still in use and is a jewel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Junction_railway_station (image from Wikimedia Commons):

 

[jis]

New Delhi station was put into service in 1926. The Wiki article is talking of inauguration of some building, possibly part of the Paharganj headhouse, associated with the station and is confusing and ambiguous. It is true that it did not become a major station until the '50s. By 1956, the newly introduced prestigious Air-conditioned Express trains were originating and terminating there both from Calcutta and then Bombay. Until the late '80s it had only 6 platforms. The additional 10 platforms in the '90s and the Ajmeri Gate head house was built after that in the 21st Century IIRC. Though the direct connection to the Ghaziabad and Calcutta using the New Yamuna Bridge happened in the mid-60s. Before that trains from Calcutta first arrived in Delhi Jn. and then proceeded to terminate in NJ by taking the short jog. That is where it used the BG/MG crossings at Sadar Bazar.

The Viceroy arrived in Lutyen’s New Delhi in 1931 at what is now the VIP Platform adjacent to Platform 1 and traveled down State Entry Road (still exists. I have walked down it many times) through Connaught Place to the Viceroy’s Residence, now Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s residence. Many a dignitary including the first Prime Minister arrived in New Delhi at this platform.

The new proposed structure is briefly discussed in the Wiki article, but the latest artists renditions have not found its way in the article. The source of that photo published in Indian Express and other newspapers is the Indian Railways Public Relations Office.

One more thing I am not sure about is the claim that New Delhi Station was built by EIR. IIRC, even Delhi Jn. after initial construction was handed over to North Western Railway, and everything on the west back of the Yamuna was NWR, indeed everything west of Ghaziabad Jn. was ostensibly NWR, but I don;t quite recall when that change happened. To the south, it was NWR upto Tughlakabad. After independence most of NWR in India and all of the upper three divisions of EIR became Northern Railway. So the Delhi complex fell entirely under NR.

 

[Trollopian]

New Delhi station was put into service in 1926. The Wiki article is talking of inauguration of some building, possibly part of the Paharganj headhouse, associated with the station and is confusing and ambiguous.

The Viceroy arrived in Lutyen’s New Delhi at what is now the VIP Platform adjacent to Platform 1 and traveled down State Entry Road (still exists. I have walked down it many times) through Connaught Place to the Viceroy’s Residence, now Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s residence. Many a dignitary including the first Prime Minister arrived in New Delhi at this platform.

Thank you for clarifying, JIS. It'd be interesting to see some photos of what the futuristic design is proposed to replace? Got any recommended images? It's an omission in the India Express article.

One reaction I have to the proposed redesign is the dystopian spaghetti tangle of concrete roads and expressways surrounding the two globes. Pedestrian access appears ugly and bleak, unless arriving by subway. (Which I assume will be integrated.) But maybe I'm misreading the design and pedestrians have a pleasant approach path amidst those little trees...as long as they don't mind walking under highways.

 

[jis]

Thank you for clarifying, JIS. It'd be interesting to see some photos of what the futuristic design is proposed to replace? Got any recommended images? It's an omission in the India Express article.

It is nothing to write home about. The two photos in the Wiki article are pretty representative of the road side of the two head houses.

One reaction I have to the proposed redesign is the dystopian spaghetti tangle of concrete roads and expressways surrounding the two globes. Pedestrian access appears ugly and bleak, unless arriving by subway. (Which I assume will be integrated.) But maybe I'm misreading the design and pedestrians have a pleasant approach path amidst those little trees...as long as they don't mind walking under highways.

Pedestrian access is either through the pedestrian bridge or under the road network at ground level and underground concourse of the Metro system. The Express Line to IGI Airport originates/terminates at New Delhi Railways Station deep underground. It is also served by the Yellow Line. In the future it will also be served by the extension of Green Line that is under construction. The underground pedestrian concourse is itself almost as vast as the over ground pedestrian circulation area.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Being under the highways means shade and rain protection (in theory) - although, at UIC, the high level walkways leaked on those walking under them. Maybe we should hire Lutyens to do the new station? Think how monumentally elegant that would be?

 

[cirdan]

So the old station has 16 tracks (according to Wikipedia) and the new will have 15 (according to the description above).
Shouldn't a station redevelopment be taken as an opportunity to cater for future growth and future-proofing?

 

[jis]

Being under the highways means shade and rain protection (in theory) - although, at UIC, the high level walkways leaked on those walking under them. Maybe we should hire Lutyens to do the new station? Think how monumentally elegant that would be?

Since Sir Edwin Lutyens died in 1944 it is unlikely that he will be designing anything today.

So the old station has 16 tracks (according to Wikipedia) and the new will have 15 (according to the description above).
Shouldn't a station redevelopment be taken as an opportunity to cater for future growth and future-proofing?

No, more or less same track layout with 16 platform track (corrected the typo in the earlier post). There is no space to put any more tracks between the densely developed area of Paharganj, and the newly developed area around Ajmeri Gate. Tracks 7 through 16 occupy an area that used to be a freight yard. The freight yard was moved elsewhere in the '80s. The relatively unchanged track layout leads to relatively little disruption in train service through the construction, notwithstanding earlier reports to the contrary.

The approach about city stations in India is exactly the opposite of what is done in the US. In the US there is a tendency to concentrate everything at a single station. In India the Mantra is dispersal. Additional capacity is created by building a separate new station. For example Delhi has Delhi Jn. New Delhi, Nizamuddin, Sarai Rohilla, Anand Vihar and now newly developing Delhi Cantonment, all connected by good public transit. Their claim is that even in the face of disruptions caused by terrorism and such this gives resiliency and also makes management of the crowd of users easier. Afterall the two oldest terminals in Kolkata of the 5 or 6 terminals today are each among the 5 largest stations in India with close to a million footfall each day in each. Can you imagine what would happen if any of them are further grown in place or shudder, consolidated into a single facility?

Incidentally the station modernization under the Amrit Bharat scheme have often been about spiffing up the head house, approach roads and pedestrian pathways and service facilities, including massive addition of air conditioning, and not about relaying out rail yards and trackage. On side effect is the addition of more rentable space thus increasing potential income from the property. Also massive addition of Solar Panels is usually involved.

 

[jis]

It is post election final 2024-25 budget season in New Delhi, and naturally with it comes the Railway part of the National Budget. The 2024-25 Budget for the Railways is about $33 Billion. This is about 10 times what the Budget was 10 years back and it is about 5% more than what it was last fiscal year.

Lots of new line construction, completion of 100% electrification,etc. etc. Apparently because of shortage of non-AC Coaches to meet demand they have decided to ramp up production of non-AC coaches to 5,000 per year. This is over and above the usual planned production of 6-7,000 coaches each year of all types. So they could be doing more than 10,000 coaches per year for a couple of years to catchup with backlog. Paying more attention to the not so well to do. This is what happens when one realizes that those far more numerous votes are important when one wins but with a significantly smaller margin.

They have designated a number of trunk routes for quadruple tracking Howrah - Delhi, Delhi - Mumbai, Howrah - Mumbai Delhi - Chennai and Howrah - Chennai. This means Howrah - Delhi and Mumbai Delhi will actually become 6 track railroads, 4 passenger/mixed tracks and 2 Dedicated Freight Corridor tracks.Think of it as like the portion of the NEC between Newark (Elmora) and Rahway, except each almost 1,000 miles long. Currently those are substantially triple track plus DFC.

They have decided to increase the length of long distance trains from 24 cars to 26 cars across the board. This will take significant work on extending platforms even at congested places like Howrah Station, where it will involve demolishing and replacing to road flyovers across the yard by new larger Cable Stayed bridges, removing pillars from the middle of the yard.

The targeted operating ratio is 98.22% as compared to the actual 98.65% in 23-24 fiscal.

 

[jis]

We spend a lot of time discussing food service on trains. I found this very interesting and informative Documentary produced by National Geographic India on IRCTC (a name you have heard mentioned here) about what it takes to provide food service on Indian Railways, specially in those trains where food is provided by IRCTC.

Incidentally it includes the Maharajah Express too and in the last segment you get to see quite a bit of the interior of the Maharajah Express, including its Kitchen and how food is prepared in it.

So here goes. The commentary is in Hindi but it is completely subtitled in English.

 

[west point]

Delhi wearing out its subway rail.

https://www.rtands.com/track-maintenance/an-introduction-to-rail-grinding-on-the-delhi-metro/

 

[jis]

Delhi wearing out its subway rail.

https://www.rtands.com/track-maintenance/an-introduction-to-rail-grinding-on-the-delhi-metro/

This is really nothing new. Delhi has had an off and on rail grinding program which they have now institutionalized. Indian Railways have had a rail grinding program, specially on the major trunk routes for decades now.

 

[west point]

More new rail lines in India.

https://www.railjournal.com/infrastructure/indian-cabinet-approves-eight-new-lines/

 

[jis]

More new rail lines in India.

https://www.railjournal.com/infrastructure/indian-cabinet-approves-eight-new-lines/

Mostly filler lines in economically backward areas. Some of them are going to be spectacular scenery wise, specially the ones in the Eastern Gahts, among the first four or five, all in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.

The last one involves a new bridge across the Ganga between the Mokamah Bridge and Farakka Barrage, yet another connection between Eastern Railw on the South bank and the North Eastern Railway on the North bank.

 

[cirdan]

Mostly filler lines in economically backward areas. Some of them are going to be spectacular scenery wise, specially the ones in the Eastern Gahts, among the first four or five, all in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.

The last one involves a new bridge across the Ganga between the Mokamah Bridge and Farakka Barrage, yet another connection between Eastern Railw on the South bank and the North Eastern Railway on the North bank.

When India announces it will build something, I guess one can safely assume that it will actually get built pretty soon, and not that they have just approved the intention to grant permission to do more studies to evaluate the potential possibility that might result from further studies into planning further studies.

Is Nimbyism a serious problem for rail construction in India? I understand agricultural land is for the most part held by smallholders, meaning that on a rail corridor of any length there must be a near astronomical number of parties to negotiate with.