A leaflet from the National Rail Museum at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi

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Last updated - Wednesday, 20-Jul-2005 21:32:56 EDT

WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL RAIL MUSEUM



In the following text IR means Indian Railways

Did You Know ? that......



  1. The first train ran between Bombay to Thane on the l6th of April 1853.
  2. IR is the 2nd Largest Railway network in tke world.
  3. IR has about 62000 kms of Track.
  4. IR employs about 1.6 million people.
  5. IR carries about 10 million passengers & 1 million tonnes freight daily.
  6. IR runs about 11000 trains daily
  7. IR has 7092 railway stations.
  8. The longest journey on the IR is from Jammutawi to Kanhyakumari a distance of about 3751 kms covered by Himsagar express in about 66 hours.
  9. The longest railway platform is at Kharagpur & is 2732ft in length.
  10. NEHRU SETU on river Sone is the longest bridge & is 10044ft in length.
  11. The longest tunnel is between Monkey hill & Khandala & is 7000ft in length.
  12. Calcutta METRO is the Ist & only underground railway system in India.
  13. Computerised reservation system started at Delhi In 1986.
  14. IR's first electric train ran in 1925 from Bombay.
  15. Toilet on trains were introduced in 1891( Ist Class) & 1907( Lower classes).
  16. IR runs 9 pairs Rajdhani & 13 Shatabdi express trains.
  17. 42 Railway companies operated in the country before Independence.
  18. IR Is presently divided into 9 Zonal Railways.
  19. IR has around 7800 locomotives, 40000 coaches & 326000 wagons.
  20. FAIRY QUEEN (b -1855) the oldest preserved locomotive is kept at NRM.
  21. The manufacturer of steam locomotives came to a close In 1972.
  22. Diesel locomotives arc manufactured at DLW Varanasi.
  23. Electric Iocomotives are manufactured at CLW Chittaranjan.
  24. Coaches are manufactured at ICF/Madras, RCF/Kapurthala & BEML/Bangalore.
  25. IR has 4 gauges of Track - BG (5'6") MG (1 metre) NG (2).
  26. IR's fastest train is the Bhopal Shatabdi which runs at speeds upto 140 kmph.
  27. Ist AC, 2nd AC, 3rd AC, AC Chair Car IInd sleeper & IInd ordinary are the various classes of travel on the IR.
  28. IR's only Rack & Pinion system type of line is from Mettupalayam to Conoor on SR.
  29. The National Rail Museum at New Delhi was set up in 1977.

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INDIAN RAILWAYS - facts compiled by the National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

THE ADVENT OF RAILWAYS INTERNATIONALLY

  1. 1825   -   England
  2. 1828  -   France
  3. 1830  -   United States of America
  4. 1834  -   Ireland
  5. 1835   -   Germany, Belgium
  6. 1836  -   Canada
  7. 1837  -   Russia
  8. 1838  -   Austria
  9. 1839   -  Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Italy
  10. 1844   -  Switzerland
  11. 1845  -   Poland
  12. 1846  -   Hungary,Yugoslavia
  13. 1847  -   Denmark
  14. 1848  -   Spain
  15. 1850  -   Mexico
  16. 1851  -   Chile
  17. 1853  -   India
  18. l854   -  Norway, Brazil, Egypt, Australia
  19. 1856   -  Portugal, Sweden,Turkey
  20. 1857   -  Argentina
  21. 1860  -   South Africa
  22. 1861   -  Pakistan, Bangladesh
  23. 1862  -   Finland, Algeria
  24. 1863  -   New Zealand
  25. l864   -  Indonesia
  26. 1865  -   Sri Lanka
  27. 1866   -  Bulgaria
  28. 1869   -  Roumania, Iraq
  29. 1872  -   Japan
  30. l876   -  Tunisia
  31. 1877  -   Burma
  32. 1881  -   China
  33. 1885   -  Malaysia
  34. 1886   -  Mozambique
  35. l891  -   Taiwan
  36. 1893   -  Thailand
  37. 1897  -   Kenya,Uganda, Tanzania
  38. 1899  -   South Korea
  39. 1900  -   Sudan
  40. 1901  -   Nigeria
  41. 1905  -   Zambia
  42. 1911  -   Zaire,Morocco
  43. 1917  -   Iran

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