Home | | Railways and Airports and Harbour Engineering | Different Gauges on Indian Railways

Chapter: Civil : Railway Airport Harbour Engineering : Railway Engineering : Railway Track Gauge

Different Gauges on Indian Railways

The East India Company intended to adopt the standard gauge of 1435 mm in India also.

Different Gauges on Indian Railways

 

The East India Company intended to adopt the standard gauge of 1435 mm in India also. This proposal was, however, challenged by Mr W. Simms, Consulting Engineer to the Government of India, who recommended a wider gauge of 1676 mm (5'6" ). The Court of Directors of the East India Company decided to adopt Mr Simms's recommendation and 5'6" finally became the Indian standard gauge. In 1871, the Government of India wanted to construct cheaper railways for the development of the country and the 1000-mm metre gauge was introduced. In due course of time, two more gauges with widths of 762 mm (2'6" ) and 610 mm (2'0" ) were introduced for thinly populated areas, mountain railways, and other miscellaneous purposes.

 

The details of the various gauges existing on Indian Railways are given in Table 2.2.

 

Table 2.2   Various gauges on Indian Railways




Name of gauge    Width (mm)         Width (feet)         Route         % of route

                             kilometres  kilometres

                                     

Broad gauge (BG)          1676  5'6"   39,612        63.2

Metre gauge (MG)          1000  3'3.37"        19,210        30.7

Narrow gauge (NG)       762    2'6"   3838  6.1

                          610       2'0"            

                                     

Total -        -        62,660        100

 

Study Material, Lecturing Notes, Assignment, Reference, Wiki description explanation, brief detail
Civil : Railway Airport Harbour Engineering : Railway Engineering : Railway Track Gauge : Different Gauges on Indian Railways |


Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, DMCA Policy and Compliant

Copyright © 2018-2023 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.