Status Operational Operator(s) Northern Railway Owner Indian Railways | Locale Uttar Pradesh Track length 165 km (103 mi) | |
Opened Narrow gauge: 1907; Broad gauge: Late 1970s Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge Terminis Saharanpur Junction railway station, Delhi Junction railway station | ||
The Delhi–Shamli–Saharanpur line is a railway line connecting Old Delhi and Saharanpur the latter in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway. This 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) wide broad gauge line was earlier a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) wide narrow gauge line.
Shamli now expanding at a very fast rate was declared a district by U.P. Govt. Seeing the expansion of the city the Railway Ministry has decided to make a double line on the Delhi-Shamli-Saharanpur track so that the city could be connected with major cities all over India. Currently Ajmer-Shamli-Haridwar train connects Shamli to the holy city of Haridwar and the rajasthani city Ajmer. A track near the line is used by the people for morning and evening walk as it is a wonderful atmosphere to jog. The Sugar Mill of the city increases its value as all the sugarcane of nearby villages comes here.
History
The 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) wide narrow gauge Shahdara-Saharanpur Light Railway, was opened to traffic in 1907. It linked Shahdara, a suburb in north-eastern Delhi, with Saharanpur. It was owned by Martin's Light Railways.
After the closure of the light railway in 1970 there was a lot of debate about the future course of action. The proposal for revival as a broad gauge line was strongly backed by Ram Chandra Vikal to Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India in 1970, whose constituency Baghpat was on this line.And finally it was later reopened in the 1973 after conversion to broad gauge by Northern Railway.
"Although the broad gauge largely follows the same trackbed and alignment as the erstwhile narrow gauge, there is a minor deviation near Saharanpur. The broad gauge line takes off south towards Delhi from Tapri on the main line, while the narrow gauge line did not touch Tapri at all. Other than that, the stations are the same as before."