This Is India's Only Railway Line Still Under British Control - Check Details

Indian Railways transports around 20 million passengers daily, operating over 7,000 trains on its tracks. It is responsible for managing Indian tracks, trains, stations, and passengers. However, there is one railway track that is owned by a British company. 

 

The Shakuntala railway track used to operate only one train, the Shakuntala passenger train, which is now discontinued. Residents of the area are demanding its resumption. 

 

With five coaches, this train used to carry 800 to 1,000 passengers to their destinations daily. In 1951, Indian Railways was nationalized, but the route did not come under the control of the Indian government. 

 

Maharashtra's Amaravati was famous for cotton cultivation and the British constructed this railway track to transport cotton from Amaravati to the Mumbai port. Click Nixon & Company from Britain established the Central Provinces Railway Company (CPRC) to build this railway track. After India's independence in 1947, Indian Railways agreed with this company, which required them to pay royalties to the company annually for using the track.

 

The Shakuntala Express, which operated on this track, was suspended for the first time in 2014 and again in April 2016. The last time this train ran was in 2020. Residents of Amaravati have been demanding the resumption of this train service for a long time, and there are calls to convert this narrow gauge into broad gauge.

 

The British company owned this track and was fully responsible for its maintenance. However, due to the company's poor management and maintenance, the condition of the track deteriorated. As a result, a decision was made to halt train services on this track for safety reasons.