This article is based upon the ‘Indian Magic’ Tour organised by Darjeeling Tours in January 2024. It also draws on comparisons with my only previous trip to India in the autumn of 1986.
Indian Railways in 1986 was a mixture of Broad, Metre & Narrow Gauges with the BG being heavily dieselised / electrified, whilst the MG & NG were a mixture of steam & diesel. In 2024 most of the MG has been converted to BG and most of the NG has either been similarly converted or closed. The main lines are now largely electrified and are a very modern railway with significant flows of block freight trains including double-stack container trains ‘under the wires’. There were numerous places where the tracks were being upgraded and new high-speed lines were under construction south of New Delhi.
Three ’Indian Hill Railways’ were granted UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ Status between 1999 & 2008 whilst 2 others are on the ‘Tentative’ List and may be added in the future. This year’s tour covered all 3 railways as well as the remaining Kolkata Trams and both sites of the National Railway Museum.
In contrast to 1986, most internal travel was by air whereas previously it was by overnight train using sleeper berths. Air travel was not without delays but certainly made for a much more comfortable experience.
Kolkata
Kolkata is regarded as the cultural capital of India and is also home to some transport curios. It’s the only remaining Indian city where the once ubiquitous Hindustan Ambassador cars are still used as taxis and is the only city with hand rickshaws in its narrow lanes. It is also the only Indian city which uses trams. It was once an extensive network but is now reduced to just 2 routes, which are not interconnected. Another 4 routes have recently been abandoned, in part to allow construction of new underground Metro routes. The trams are also unique in India being standard gauge.
We rode Route 25 from Esplanade – Gariahat Depot. The trams are powered cars with a trailer and turn on balloon loops at each end of their journey. On the morning of our visit there was no evidence of a timetable, but there appeared to be around 7 trams in service with a service interval of around 30 minutes.
