Which was the first Rajdhani and when was it introduced?

19-07-2019

The first Rajdhani was introduced between Howrah and New Delhi on March 1, 1969. It was initially a bi-weekly 8 car train - Brake/Luggage/Generator, AC I, AC Pantry, AC Chair, AC Chair, AC Chair, AC Chair, Brake/Luggage/Generator - hauled by a single WDM-4. It left Howrah on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and left New Delhi on Mondays and Fridays. The first return journey from New Delhi was March 3. The booked speed for the route was 115 km/h and the maximum permissible speed was 120 km/h. (At the time, the only train allowed this speed.) Later it ran 5 days a week, and also had a mid-train generator car. Still later it became a daily train, with two runs (Tuesday and Friday) going via Patna.

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Are there rail connections to Bhutan?
July 19, 2019

Currently there are no railways at all in Bhutan. However, recently a proposal has been floated to link Bhutan's border towns with three railheads in Assam and two in West Bengal. In this proposal, the following cross-border lines would be constructed: Banarhat, West Bengal -- Samchi (Samtse) (16km) Hashimara, West Bengal --

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Are there rail connections to Nepal from India?
July 19, 2019

Jaynagar is a point close to the India-Nepal border in Bihar. This town has MG service on ER from various points, including Darbhanga which is on the BG network. From Jaynagar, there is a Nepal Govt. Railway train service (2'6" NG) up to Janakpur (Janakpurdham) and Bizalpura (Bijalpura), begun in 1937. The total track length of this section is

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Are there rail connections to Bangladesh from India?
July 19, 2019

Passenger services have been running on a trial basis between the two countries, commencing with the running of the Maitry Express ('Friendship Express') on the 117km stretch between Sealdah and Bongobandhu East in Bangladesh. A 60km stretch from there to Dhaka is under construction (it existed earlier but washed away in a flood in 1978). Prior to

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Are there any rail connections to Sri Lanka from India?
July 19, 2019

There was a rail link to Sri Lanka from India until 1964, with services from Madras to Colombo (the Indo-Ceylon Express). From Madras Egmore passengers took the Rameshwaram Exp. (then known as the "Boat Mail"). The MG track went through Pamban and reached a pier at Dhanushkodi, the southern tip of the island of Rameshwaram and about 27km from the

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Where are the oldest rails to be found on IR?
July 19, 2019

Most of the very old tracks have by now been relaid and renovated, so that it is very hard to find very old rails. Good bets are the meter-gauge and narrow-gauge lines that don't see much traffic. Abandoned lines (such as at the Bombay Port Trust railway) also sometimes have very old rails left intact. The Bombay Port Trust railway tracks between

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Sometimes the sides of rails appear to be painted. Why is this done?
July 19, 2019

Normally, rails do not need to be painted as the expected life span resulting from the effects of wheel wear and fatigue is such that corrosion is not a significant problem. In some areas, however, corrosion of rails, especially on the inside of the rail foot below the liners, or on the sides, can be quite severe, and may result in the need for

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