When the NMR had a glass roof Maharaja coach

Chennai: The Indian railways, considered to be one of the top five railway networks in the world, is changing track. Recently, IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways began operating the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express, thus marking a beginning of the mega proposal to introduce at least 150 trains as private services.

But this shift from the government-owned system is not a completely alien idea. Records show that ‘private’ trains/lines were in vogue for decades in a few sections, but are now withdrawn. Notable among them was the 190km long Shakuntala Railways, which operated between Yavatmal and Murtijapur in Maharashtra from 1910. In Tamil Nadu, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway ( NMR ) too had a private service for a brief period in 1992-1994 and 1997-2000.

Conceived through a public private partnership (PPL) model in 1992, the NMR outsourced operations to the Heritage Steam Chariot Trust (HSCT), which operated two trips from Ooty to Runnymede stations and back. Managing trustee of HSCT K Natarajan says, "As an NMR enthusiast, I wanted to operate the mountain train between Ooty and Runnymede, a distance of 25km for tourists. I sent a proposal to the railways in 1984. In 1992, sanction was given to operate the train during April and May. This continued till 1994."

At this time, the train comprised a Maharaja coach with a glass roof and three second class coaches. The fares were Rs500 for Maharaja and Rs250 for the second class coach. The two-hour train ride would end around 12.30pm at Runnymede, which was a view point where tourists enjoyed a break for two hours. The train would begin its return journey by 2.30pm. "Train hostesses were appointed by the HSCT," says Natarajan.

In 1997, the HSCT once again received sanction from the railways to operate the train on the same stretch. "HSCT paid Rs13,000 per day to the railways and operated the steam engine hauled train every day. The contract was for three years till 2000," says Natarajan. Though it did not make much profit due to less tourist inflow, those who took the journey remember it to be a remarkable memory of the lush green hills with a quaint railway station.

The Tejas Express on the Lucknow-Delhi route, which was flagged off on October 4, is Indian Railways’ latest experiment of running a train by a non-railway operator, its own subsidiary, IRCTC. It is, however, a matter of debate over calling the Tejas Express as the first private train, as the Palace on Wheels (operated by Rajasthan Tourism), Deccan Odyssey (Karnataka Tourism), Maharaja Express (IRCTC), Shakuntala Railways, including the HSCT-operated NMR, Mumbai Metro (Reliance) may all fall into the ‘private’ category. Retired DRM of Palghat division Dhasarathy concurs that HSCT operated and IRCTC’s Tejas Express are not private trains. "Only the commercial activities are being outsourced by the railways," he says.