Draft:Bhakra Railways

Bhakra Railways (BR) is a special daily train service provided by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) between Nangal in punjab and Bhakra in Himachal Pradesh. It traverses a total distance of 13 kilometers along the Sutlej river through the sivalik hills. Bhakra railways runs on broad gauge. Over 300 passengers from 25 nearby villages travel in the free train everyday which runs twice a day from both the ends in mornings and evenings. School students are the major beneficiaries of this service.

Free Service
The train consumes 18 to 20 gallons of diesel per hour, but the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to keep it free despite the cost. Today, the train is a symbol of the wealth gap that existed throughout the British era. The majority of the passengers are helpers, pump operators, carpenters, and other dam workers. The BBMB officials decided to end this free service in 2011 owing to financial difficulties, however, it was later determined that this train was not intended to be a source of revenue, but rather to preserve heritage and tradition.

Route
It covers six stations in its near-13-km long one-way journey between Nangal and Bhakra, along the Himachal Pradesh-Punjab border. BBMB operates trains from Nangal Township in Nangal to Olinda near Bhakra dam with stops at Labour Hut, Dobeta, Barmala, Nehila, Olinda and Cement cell. It traverses 27.3 km to-and-fro and three tunnels of which two are horse-shoe shaped tunnels and a 158.5-m high rail-cum-road bridge through the scenic Shivaliks.

Every day at 7.05 AM, the train departs Nangal Township Railway Station and arrives in Olinda (Bhakra) at 8.20 AM. It departs Nangal at 3.05 PM. for another trip, dropping passengers off at Bhakra at 4.20 PM.

History
The construction of Bhakra-Nangal Dam started in 1948 in Bhakra, Himachal Pradesh for which only the officials were provided with jeeps to access the dam-construction site via road. so a railway track was laid to ferry Machinery and Labourers to the then-construction site which initially ran on steam and then in 1953, three new 400 HP diesel engines made by an american MNC general electric were imported from US(Pennsylvania) in a bid to Modernise the route which continues to chug on these tracks over 7 decades now with Five karachi made coaches two being 4-wheelers and the other three being 8-wheelers that were built in 1923 with seats made of wooden benches.

Facts

 * The World's Only Free Train Service for civilians
 * The world's highest straight-gravity dam
 * Only railway Line in India operated by an entity other than the Ministry of railways (India)

Accidents and Incidents

 * On 09 February 2024 - The train derailed near Nehla village when it reached a curve, one wheel got derailed. Two of its coaches right behind the engine got derailed. No Casualties were reported as the train was running at a speed of 10 km per hour.

Articles

 * https://www.india.com/travel/articles/latest-travel-news-free-train-rides-in-india-bhakra-railway-train-has-been-offering-free-rides-since-73-years-bhakra-nangal-dam-travel-5386153/
 * https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/75-years-of-bhakra-nangal-train-keeping-the-world-of-wooden-coaches-vintage-engines-alive-one-free-ride-at-a-time-101701025450848.html
 * https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/bhakra-shuttle-train-derails-no-casualties-reported/articleshow/107541989.cms#:~:text=Chandigarh%3A%20The%20Nangal-Bhakra%20shuttle%20train%20run%20by%20Bhakra,at%20Bhakra%20Dam.%20Police%20also%20reached%20the%20spot
 * https://businessconnectindia.in/the-train-you-can-travel-free-in-india/