National Geographic video - The Great Indian Railways Part 4 of 5

A puffing steam train climbs into the Himalaya, a rolling rumble echoes over the holy waters of the Ganges, an astonishing five million commuters rush daily through the Bombay Victoria Terminus - join National Geographic as we journey on one of the world's largest railways. Since 1853, Indian railway has been a unifying force. Not only did it physically link distant regions, it also connected the myriad of castes, languages, and religions that comprise India. It's a rich history, riding the sumptuous Palace on Wheels through Rajasthan or the "toy train" to Darjiing, but sadly, the age of steam is dying. At the Black Beauty contest, the beloved steam engines are admired for the last time. From the driver in the steaming locomotive to the station master in the sleepy village, from the family traveling to a wedding to the commuters in the large cities, this great institution reflects the country itself. Many are the faces, and varied are the stories, on THE GREAT INDIAN RAILWAY.

The British Empire's legacy to India is the subcontinent's railway system. Indian Railways is the state-owned railway company of India. Indian Railways owns and operates most of the country's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India.

Indian Railways has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily. Indian Railways is one of the world's largest commercial or utility employers, with more than 1.6 million employees.

Indian Railways traverse the length and breadth of the country, covering 6,909 stations over a total route length of more than 63,327 kilometres (39,350 mi). As to rolling stock, Indian Railways owns over 200,000 (freight) wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives. Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities.

Steam trains and other locomotives are nostalgic reminders of a time gone by. This video, released in 1995, is in widescreen format and has a feature-film feel to it, with re-created scenes in sepia contributing to its extremely atmospheric mood. Though not a profound presentation, the video is an introduction to a fascinating railway system in a complex country

Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur. Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai have their own metro networks, namely the New Delhi Metro, the Kolkata Metro,and the Chennai MRTS, with dedicated tracks mostly laid on a flyover.

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[ovaltrack1]

Great video. Thank you.

[MrYuvaraj1991]

Why am I seeing depressing comments here? Like udaydon4u explained earlier, locomotive models do get preserved and FYI anniversary steam runs are conducted from time to time. India ran 1000's of steam locomotives at its peak. How can it preserve each and every one of them? Which country did that ever?

[mstrmnd25]

i really feel very sad that India is very poor in preserving history. Only good at figuring out means to make money without any due respect to its heritage...

Very truly said, "Diesels and Electrics have no muscle in them, only technology. Steam locos were the real heros!"

[udaydon4u]

@97trainman Indian government has established a railway museum decades ago in new delhi , where at least one locomotive of each model is preserved . Its not possible to preserve every locomotive .. if so a new railway station just for preserving locos has to be built in every city and town .. Every country sells away old locos to scrap dealers , even your country must have done .

[4freespeech]

THESE ARE WORLD BANK CRIMINALS WHO ARE STRIPPING NATIONS LIKE INDIA OF THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR SOUL!

If the railroads were working as they always did, people were traveling as they always did, and coal was available for steam as it always was, the ONLY DIFFERENCE is the BANKERS came in and DESTROYED INDIA'S PRIDE!

A POX & CURSE UPON THE WORLD BANK CRIMINALS FOREVER!

[97trainman]

I really can't bare seeing a steam locomotive this way that is being cut up and sold for scrap. I just can't believe India screws it's people this way and so many others.

[amphibianblue]

so very very touching; If this had happened a few years later, probably a wealthier India today could have preserved each one of these amazing beauties!

[equn]

Very emotional. Indian people are nice.