Bhakra Rail - Golden Jubilee of a forgotten railroad system of North India

A majority of us discuss latest developments on the railway world. However, some veteran railway services that have been under the sun for ages get overlooked for the lack of railfans' reach or media attention. I would like to bring the spotlight back on one of the forgotten Broad Gauge (1676 mm) passenger lines that offers spectacular scenaries and interesting operating procedures that set an example in the world of railroad.

I am talking about Bhakra Rail of India - that struggles to operate with a few dilapidated Broad Gauge  passenger coaches and some 400 HP GE diesel locomotive from the 50s that is going stronger. There may be a bit of challenge to find detailed information on Bhakra Rail. However, I can introduce BR with this  picture, the link of which I borrowed from Flickr ID Adu007. The locomotive has the road number of 32069. Tugged behind are two four-wheeler and three eight-wheeler carriages:

For those who are learning about the existence of BR for the first time, let me provide a brief introduction. The very reason this line was constructed in 1948 was the lack of any other mode of communication between the two barrage towns of Bhakra and Nangal. In that era, the objective was to carry the entire workforce between the two end points of the railroad. Due to aging and deterioration of riding quality, at present the only subscribers of this service remain as the local labor force. This 14 km stretch was constructed by building bridges and three tunnel along the way. To help the locales, six intermediate stations ("Labour Hut", "Dubeta Colony", "Varmala", "Nehila", "Olinda" and "Cement Cell") were also built. The route hugs the Dam reservoir and water bodies for the most part of its journey. Since the train cuts through the mountains, the journey offers unmatched views of the Shivalik mountains and rivers.

And guess what? This service is free!! Local villagers and employees of Bhakra Beas Management Board use this train as a reliable transportation medium to commute, to travel for shopping and other business.

The five coaches of this train will remind us of a bygone era. They were made in Karachi in 1923; is it not exciting? From my research, I actually found at least 5 coaches with 8 wheels and at least two more with 4 wheels! Now, finding the existence of 4 wheel Broad Gauge coaches in India is really interesting. These colonial era coaches feature normal BG screw-hook couplers and buffers. Internal settings include typical wooden bench accommodation with grill-less windows to peep out. The MPS is pegged at 40 KPH, but who cares about speed while on board a 90 year old coach? Let us have a look at the interiors by borrowing from Swapnil (IndiaMike). Maintaining such a coach in working condition at a presumably minimal welfare budget is no monkey's job!

As pictures might tell a thousand words, I would like to share some from various sources that would include snapshots of the train at different locations on its route and a puny view of the yard of this little railway system.

Daily Post: view of the station platform where the puny locomotive and some dilapidated carriages can be seen. This station looks like one of the terminals where the locomotive is being attached to the train as the driver is facing the rake and someone prepares the screw couplers for loco attachment.

Following is a picture from Swapnil (IndiaMike website). Four wheeler carriage #50857 looks like it has got a coat of paints. If is definitely one of the colonial heritages that Bhakra Rail managed to hide from the railfans' lenses.

This is a fantastic capture by Satbir Singh (On Panoramio website). Here is the train at a wayside station in a graceful curvature! What a shot!

One treasure by Amar Angrish (On Panoramio website) can be found below. It portrays a view of the Bhakra Rail yard where a loco can be seen taking rest under the little canopy. Also, some freight wagons are visible here and there:

Probably the best of the lot came from Jagmit Singh (On Panoramio website). This shot has captured a beautiful spot where the train enters one of the three tunnels on its route through Shivalik Mountain range. From a distance, the Bhakra Rail coaches resemble the normal Indian Railways coaches for their adherence to IR livery. However, the smaller coaches at the rear (if we may call them coachlings) stand out as aberrations.

Some logistical facts - About Bhakra Rail's connections to Indian Railways, there is hardly any information or feedback available at this moment. As it implies, Indian Railways' locomotives, coaches and other rolling stock never got a chance to taste this little commuter railroad. If one has to explore this railroad, the first step should be to get to Nangal Dam railway station of Northern Railway. From Delhi one can avail the Una Himachal Jan Shatabdi (for afternoon sitting journey) or Himachal Express (for overnight trip). From Nangal Dam, it may be a challenge to cross over to the territory of Bhakhra Beas Management Boad's (BBMP) area to get to the BBMP station and board the train since no time table is publicly available. However as my experience counts, nothing can beat the passion of a rail traveler!

For those who want to learn more about this unique stretch of railways, please review the following videos:

Videos:
Kanwarjit Singh has ably captured this train on a breathtaking view over a viaduct. Click Here to view.

For those who understand Punjabi, putting the link of a news report:

Note: Reference article in TOI:
Click Here

Location of the Bhakra Railway depot can be seen in the following snippet of Google Map: Thanks to those who took all the trouble to catch this elusive railway line through lenses. I would be thankful if you keep me posted about the past, present and future of this line.