Indian Railways: 10 Fascinating Facts Every Student Should Learn. The Indian railways hold a major presence in our daily lives, in literature, and in the cinematic world. Life without railways won’t be the same as they’ve entirely woven themselves into the fabric of life across India. Even the history of railways is quite fascinating and surprising. Most people don’t know in depth about the Indian Railways. In this article, we will cover 10 fascinating facts every student should learn.
Indian Railways
There is no need to give an introduction about the Indian Railways, as most people travel by train daily. It is a significant part of our country because it is a statutory body that works under the ownership of the Railway Minister of the Government of India, which operates the railway system of our country.
Indian Railways is quite famous for being known as the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest rail network. Indian Railways is also known as the backbone of our country. Let’s discuss the 10 fascinating facts about Indian Railways.
10 Fascinating Facts Every Student Should Learn
First State to Develop Railway Workshop
The state of Bihar is very popular for its astonishing history from the mediaeval to the modern period. Indian Railways was also a part of Bihar’s history, as the first-ever railway workshop of the British government was set up at Jamalpur, near Munger district, Bihar. This workshop was established before Indian Independence on 8th February 1862. The railway workshop developed its own iron and steel foundry and became financially independent.
Luxury Trains
Indian Railways runs five luxury trains that provide an experience of royalty to the passengers. These trains are furnished with the best facilities like restaurants, bars, cafes, laundry services, and spa services. These trains are super luxurious and offer the feeling of a five-star hotel. The names of these luxury trains are:
- The Maharaja’s Express
- Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
- Places on Wheels
- The Golden Chariot
- The Deccan Odyssey
Bholu: The Mascot
Bholu is an Indian Railway “Shubhankar” or mascot. It is a cartoon of a person wearing a railway guard uniform and holding a lamp. On the 150th-anniversary commemoration event, they designed this mascot. After that, in 2003, it was officially accepted as the permanent mascot of the Indian Railway.
4th Largest Railway Network in the World
Indian Railways is popularly known as the world’s largest railway network because it is spread over 68,525 kilometres. At present, it has over 45 thousand kilometres of electrified rail network. Except that Indian Railways is also known for having the 8th largest employer.
World’s Highest Rail Bridge
Indian Railways has the world’s highest rail bridge over the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir. This bridge stands as an engineering marvel. This bridge towers at around 359 metres above the riverbed. This fascinating piece of architecture is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project, which represents India’s engineering strength.
Diamond Crossing
Diamond Crossing is a distinct railway crossing in Nagpur, where trains coming from different directions intersect each other and form a diamond shape. This is a very rare crossing and it is proof of the difficulty and efficiency of the Indian Railways infrastructure.
Slowest and Fastest Trains
The New Delhi–Bhopal Shatabdi is currently the fastest train on the Indian Railways network. It reaches a maximum speed of 150 km/h on the Faridabad–Agra section. The Metupalayam–Ooty Nilgiri Passenger train is the slowest train and it runs at an average speed of 10 km/h.
Four World Heritage Sites
In Indian Railways, four sites have been announced as “World Heritage Sites” by UNESCO. These are Darjeeling, the Himalayan Railway inscribed in 1999; the Mumbai CST Building inscribed in 2004; the Nilgiri Mountain Railways inscribed in 2005; and the Kalka Shimla Railways inscribed in 2008.
Longest Platform in the World
The renovated platform at Gorakhpur Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh has become the world’s longest, measuring 1,366 metres. Before that, Kharagpur in West Bengal was the longest platform at 1,072 metres, followed by the State Street Centre subway station in Chicago at 1,067 metres.
Heavy traffic at the IRCTC portal
The IRCTC portal encounters major traffic because of its popularity among millions of users booking train tickets daily. The estimate concludes that around 12 lakh people access it per minute. This traffic leads to temporary slowdowns, mostly during peak times.