Gwalior Light Railway (GLR) or Maharaja Railway[3] was a
2 ft (610 mm)
narrow-gauge railway network in
Gwalior. It was set up for
Gwalior State during the times of
British India.[4] Until its closure in 2020, the railway was the longest 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway in the world.[3]
History
The Gwalior Light Railway was built by the Maharaja
Madho Rao Scindia of the
Gwalior State.[5] It was originally a 14-mile long private tramway.[6] Construction began in 1895 of the 53 mile
Gwalior–
Bhind line.[7] By 1897 it was 34 miles long and was used to bring in supplies to relieve the famine.[6] Both this section and the Gwalior–
Shivpuri section opened on 2 December 1899 by
Lord Curzon the
Viceroy of India.[6] The Gwalior-
Joura branch opened on 1 January 1904 and on 12 January 1904 the extension to
Sabalgarh was opened. A further extension to
Birpur opened on 1 November 1908 and the full line to
Sheopur opened on 15 June 1909.[7] In October 1900, the Indian Midland Railway Company agreed to operate the railway on behalf of the Maharaja.[8]
In 1942, the Gwalior Light Railway was renamed the Scindia State Railway. In 1951, the system was purchased by the
Central Railway.[9]
The railway was initially worked with steam locomotives, but later diesel locomotives were used. There was a plan to
electrify the railway in the 1920s from a generating station below the
Nanakura Dam, but this scheme was abandoned.[10]
Permanent way
The track was 30 lb/yd (15 kg/m)
flat-bottomed steel rails laid on a mix of
Sal wood and iron sleepers. The minimum radius curve on the line was 955 feet (291 m) and the steepest gradient was 1 in 40.[11]