Indian Railways is exploring possibility of taking over the vintage Shakuntala Railway from a British firm that still owns the only private railway line in the country that falls under Central Railway jurisdiction. Against this backdrop, the visit of Roopa Srinivasan, Member Finance, Railway Board, to Yavatmal on Friday, assumes significance. She will study the ground situation and inspect the conditions to help Railways decide on the plan. Srinivasan will hold talks with local railways officials, discuss the contours of the project so as to understand the requirement of funds for infusion in revival of Shakuntala Railway. Presently, the service stands discontinued as the Shakuntala Express has lost its relevance in today’s jet age, and railways incurring losses in operations.

 

Entire route needs to be upgraded and in past though announcement was made, it could not take off owing to multiple issues, the major one being Railways not owning the route. The 190 km line from Murtizapur-Yavatmal-Achalpur ownership still vests with Central Province Railway Company (CPRC), a wholly owned subsidiary of British firm Killick-Nixon, it was formed in 1910 during British era. Railways though had announced funding for gauge conversion, the final contours of project, including complete take over by Railways still remains in limbo. The issue of take over of Shakuntala Railways has not been resolved even after 75-years of independence, though all other routes were nationalised by Indian Government in 1952 itself.

 

The vintage train used to operate on Narrow Gauge line, covering the 190 km distance in 20 hours, as old assets and technology prevented acceleration of the speed. While the track is owned by British firm, Indian Railway used to operate train services. Railways would pay the British company Rs 1 crore to utilise the railway route. After studying various representations, Railways is now keen to expand its footprint in one of the backward region of Maharashtra and hence taking serious look at the Shakuntala Railway issue to settle the matter.. Member Finance opinion is going to weigh on the issue, as the owner company is seeking hefty compensation to transfer the ownership to Indian Railways. The operational jurisdiction of Shakuntala Railways lies with Bhusawal Division of CR and they have even started survey to study feasibility of Gauge conversion, it is learnt from officials.

 

There are two components of Shakuntala Railway, one stretch from Mutizapur to Achalpur and Murtizapur to Yavatmal, totalling 190 km distance, and another branch line from Arvi to Pulgaon, a 35 km section, that was part of same company. Murtizapur to Achalpur is a 76 km distance, while the Yavatmal route is a 113 -km stretch. The Yavatmal route was opened in 1903 while the Achalpur line was commissioned in 1913 and they merged into GIPR in 1925. Prior to that, Pulgaon section was started in 1917. These routes were primarily meant for transporting cotton from hinterland of Vidarbha to Manchester in England. Post independent these line were converted to passenger line and the NG section catered to vast populace along the line. Post introduction of Broad Gauge network, the need was felt for upgrading the Shakuntala Railway route. The then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in 2016-17 announced grant of Rs 1500 crore but somehow the project did not materialise. Now that Yavatmal is being connected with railway line, Achalpur still lacks rail connectivity. Hence Railways is keen to operationalise erstwhile route of Shakuntala Railways as it aggressively expanding network of railways. Murtizapur already had Board Gauge connectivity.