GEERT%BITNIC.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA (Geert K. Marien) (10/12/85)
First, in my reply to John Purbick, at one point the word 'to' should be
'too'. I just want you to know that I can spell. Typing is another thing
to be considered.
Now, the main point:
Does anyone out there have info on railways in India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka? Would appreciate anything!
/Geert
Acknowledge-To: Geert K. Marien <GEERT@BITNIC>Bill.Scherlis@C.CS.CMU.EDU (10/14/85)
Timetables, at least, are easily available: The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable, published bimonthly, contains times for trains and connecting coaches, ferries, trams, etc., all over the world -- except for Western Europe and Britain. If you find it necessary to have current times for trains in Peru, Mali, Tanzania, Turkey, and other such places (including the US, Japan, and India), you can subscribe to this guide by writing: Forsyth Travel Library P.O.Box 2975 9154 West 57th St Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201 A single issue costs $20.95. An annual subscription costs $95. -------
raghu@rlgvax.UUCP (Raghu Raghunathan) (10/22/85)
> Does anyone out there have info on railways in India, Pakistan, > Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka? Would appreciate anything! > > /Geert Exactly what kind of information are you looking for? I have travelled by Indian Railways for the first 22 years of my life (while I was growing up in India) and in my opinion, they are the best travel value available in India. They typically cost around $10 per 1000 miles (approx.) if you travel Second class (which is the way to travel if you want to experience the realities and discomforts of Indian travel). The cost of First class travel is about 2-3 times the cost of Second class. I don't know if one can make reservations from outside India. I'll be willing to bet that it can't be done since Indian Railways aren't computerized. Indian Railways have a extremely wide network and go practically everywhere within India (as opposed to the airlines which go only to the major cities). The trains generally are not known for their puntuality (they are often upto 10 hours late on long hauls). You should expect your train to be late (both arrival and departure) about 10 to 20 percent of the travel time, on an average. Most of the engines are still steam driven though diesel engines are replacing the steam engines on frequently travelled routes. Electic trains are found only within big cities. Most steam engines are of antique design (early 1920s) and though they are manufactured in India now, the design hasn't been changed in more than 50 years. If you want more information on any specific aspect of the railways, let me know. I tried to e-mail this to you, but the mail came back to me undelivered. - Raghu PS: An important concept to remember if you are travelling in India: PATIENCE. You have to be extremely patient with every- thing and everybody. People and things take their own sweet time and nobody is ever in any hurry. If you are of an impatient nature (or if you want to stick very closely to your schedule) you'll just get frustrated.
jis1@mtgzz.UUCP (j.mukerji) (10/26/85)
> Does anyone out there have info on railways in India, Pakistan, > Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka? Would appreciate anything! > > /Geert To start with the basics: (i) Indian Railways is one of the top five railway systems in the world in size. (ii) It employs over 1 million people. (iii) The Indian Railways are owned and operated by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India. (iv) The Indian Railways are organized as a federations of railways, each portion of the federation is called a zone, and is named after its location within the country. The zones are: Northern, North-Eastern, North-East Frontier, Eastern, South-Eastern, South-Central, Southern, Central, and Western. (v) Indian Railways is a multi-gauge railroad system. Most prevelent are Broad (5'6") and Meter (1M) gauge, with a significant sprinkling of narrower gauges like 2'6" and 2" (Darjeeling Himayalan Railway). (vi) The level of passenger service varies very widely, depending on the route travelled and even on the same route, they run different trains with a very wide variance of the level of service among them. The best service is typically found on the inter-metropolis trunk routes, where reasonably fast express trains (sometimes with premium fares) provide what would be considered very reasonable service, by western standards. Typical routes of this nature are those connecting New Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Bangalore, Amritsar, etc. Typical accomodation falls in one of the following catagories (from the most luxurious to the least): (a) Air-Conditioned Sleeper: Essentially equivalent to sleeper service on the Broadway Limited in this country, except that food is included in the ticket. This service is available only on premium fare trains called Rajdhani Express. (b) Air-Conditioned First Class: Same as above, except that food is not included in the ticket, and cabin service is somewhat inferior. This service is available on one or more trains on all trunk routes. (c) Air-Conditioned 2-tier Sleeper: Somewhat like Slumberettes on the Broadway or Lake Shore Limiteds. Level of comfort and space about equivalent, although the layout is different. Food is included with the ticket on Rajdhani Expresses, not on other trains. Available on one or more trains on most of the trunk routes. (d) Air-Conditioned Chair Car: Same as Amfleet Coach, except for the fact that seating is 5 abreast instead of 4 abreast, on Broad Gauge trains, taking advantage of the wider gauge. Food is included in the ticket on Rajdhani Expresses, not on other trains. (e) First-Class: Same cabin arrangement as Air-Conditioned First Class, but not Air-Conditioned. (f) Second Class 2-tier Sleeper: Same arrangement as Air-Conditioned 2-tier Sleeper, except, not Air-Conditioned. (g) Second Class 3-tier Sleeper: Same arrangement as 2-tier sleeper except that the sleeping births are stacked in groups of three instead of two. Needless to say, that is the case only at night. During the day, the middle birth folds down to make a seat for three. This service is available on all overnight trains that are run by the Indian Railways. (h) Second Class Mail/Express: Same arrangement as the 2-tier sleeper, except that the upper birth is used as a luggage rack, not as a sleeping berth. (i) First Class Commuter: No sleeping accomodation, only seating arrangement. Usually used on short journey day trains, and commuter trains (which are known as suburban trains). (j) Second Class Commuter: No sleeping accomodation, only seating arrangement. Usually used on short journey day trains, and commuter trains (which are known as suburban trains). (vii) Punctuality is highly variable too, even on the same route. On the Indian Railways traffic management is done on the basis of the priority assigned to a train. If a train happens to have low priority, as many non-premium service trains do, they tend to lose time rapidly, once they start to lose time. On the other hand priority mail/express trains tend not to lose time to that extent. On non-priority trains delays of > 4 hours is not uncommon. On priority trains, delays of > 4 hours is usually attributable to some disaster natural or otherwise on the way. The worst delay that I have encountered was a delay of 20 hours on the Air-Conditioned express between Calcutta and New-Delhi a long time back. The reason for the delay was that President Rajendra Prasad was trvelling in his special train ahead of us, and he insisted on stopping at every station on the way and delivering a long speech, while we waited behind his train at the outer signal of the station. Events like that are more common than one would care to imagine. The best that I have seen is the Rajdhani Express or Kalka-Delhi-Howrah Mail arrive at Calcutta 15 mins. before time. This happens because there is as much as 30min. slack in the last leg of a run to make up on some lost time, so as to make the on-time statistics look good! (viii) Motive power consists of a mix of Steam, Diesel and Electric. The total number of Steam locomotives is far greater than the total number of Diesel and Electric locomotives put together. However, total tonne-Km drawn by Diesels and Electrics far surpasses the tonne-Km drawn by Steam (a tonne is a term used for 1000Kg). The locomotive fleet on the Indian Railways is highly standardized. On the Broad Gauge system following are the predominant classes of locomotives: I Steam: (i) Class WP: 4-6-2 (Pacific), semi-streamlined, based on a 1940 circa MLW design. Originally several were purchased from MLW. Subsequent orders were filled by Czechoslovakian Railways(!), Polish Railways(!) and after 1953 by Indian Raylway's own Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. These were usually assigned to crack mail/express duties upto mid-1960s. They have gradually been replaced by Diesels/Electrics on those duties, and are now seen on some mail/expresses and a lot of slower trains. They are gradually being scrapped as they fall due for major overhauls. (ii) Class WG: 2-8-2, the workhorse of Indian Railways. Based on an original American design of WWII vintage. manufactured at various times by MLW, Polish Railways, and Indian Railways. Most of the existing are manufactured in India. (iii) Other classes: In addition to the two above, there are at least half a dozen other classes like WL, CWD, PWD etc. The WD in the ?WD class names stands for "War Department" so you know where they came from! In the past there used to be at least two classes of articulated locomotives from Bayer-Garratt, but they have all been retired long back (sigh!). II Diesel: (i) Class WDM2 Co-Co, diesel-electric rated at 2700HP the diesel workhorse of Indian Railways. Based on a early 1960s circa Alco design hood unit. Earlier ones manufatured by Alco, later manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works of the Indian Railways. Used both on passenger and freight service. Single or double headed, seldom used in tandem of more than two. (ii) Class WDM4 Co-Co, diesel-electric rated at 2700HP purchased from GM-EMD. Early 1960 design. Only about half of the original number purchased in operation at present, the rest having been retired from service due to excessively high failure rate. (iii) Class WDM5 Co-Co diesel-electric rated at 2700HP is a cab unit modification of calss WDM2. (iv) Class WDS4 oCo diesel-Suri transmission (?)HP light diesel shunter. Used in yard and local services. III Electric (i) WAM1, WAM2, WAM3 Bo-Bo 25KV 50Hz AC 3000HP manufactured by Siemens, a French Consortium, and Hitachi-Mitsubishi-Toshiba. These were purchased in the early phases of 25KV electrification and continue to give very good service 15 to 20 years after their purchase. (ii) WAM4 Co-Co 25KV 50Hz AC 4200HP designed and manufactured by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. The main electric workhorse of the Indian Railways. Usually seen at the point of anything from a fast express to a lowly local drag on electrified sections. Capable of speeds of upto 120KmPH. (iii) WCAM4 Co-Co 25KV 50HZ AC and 3KV DC dual-voltage, used between Bombay and Baroda on the Bombay-New Delhi main line. The traction voltage changes from 300V DC to 25 KV AC just north of Virar on the way from Bombay to New-Delhi. WCAM4 is a WAM4 with the dual-voltage electrical system. (iv) There are some pure 3KV DC locomotives that operate in and around Bombay that I am not very familiar with. (v) WAP1 Co-Co 25KV 50Hz AC 4200HP, a new passenger version of the WAM4. It is a WAM4 regeared for operation at speeds upto 160 KmPH (100 MPH). Currently in limited use only on the New-Delhi Calcutta Rajdhani Express which runs at a maximum speed of 130 KmPH. Eventually slated to be the passenger electric workhorse for fast express trains. (ix) Electrification on Indian Railways: Indian Railways has standardized on a 25KV 50 HZ AC system based on a French design for electrification. It has a very aggressive electrification program, which calls for electrification of as much as 150 route Km per year. The Calcutta- New Delhi trunk route (1445Km) is already fully electrified. The New Delhi-Bombay (~1400Km), and Calcutta-Bombay (~2100Km) routes are in advanced stages of completion. In addition Madras-Vijaywada which is on the common trunk route running north from Madras to Calcutta and New Delhi is also electrified. The commuter rail service around Bombay, New Delhi, Calcutta and Madras are also electric. Boy! This article is getting real long, so I think I will stop at this point. If there is further interest, let me know. I can go on for many many more pages! Cheers. Jishnu Mukerji AT&T Information Systems Labs Middletown NJ ihnp4!mtgzz!jis1