Even after 77 years of India's independence, one railway line remains under the control of a British company. Despite numerous attempts by Indian Railways to acquire this line, they have been unsuccessful.
Even after 77 years of India's independence, a railway line in Maharashtra is still managed by a British company. Despite several attempts by Indian Railways to purchase this line, they have not been successful. The Central Province Railway Company is still managed by the British company 'Killik Nixon & Co'.
Indian Railways has made several attempts to take over this 190 km railway line from Amravati to Murtajapur. However, they were not successful. Only one passenger train, the Shakuntala Passenger, used to run on this railway line. Hence, this route is called the Shakuntala Railway Line. The Shakuntala Express used to stop at 17 stations between Achalpur and Yavatmal. This train ran on a steam engine for almost 70 years.
In 1994, a diesel engine was installed for the Shakuntala Passenger train. After that, the train was stopped due to unforeseen reasons. Locals are demanding that it be restarted. This train with 5 bogies used to carry 800 to 1,000 passengers to their destinations every day. Indian Railways was nationalized in 1951. But this railway line did not come under the purview of the Indian government.
Indian Railways used to pay a royalty of Rs 1.20 crore to the England company for using the Amravati-Murtajapur railway line. However, several reports say that the situation has changed now. It is said that there is no need to pay royalty now.
Cotton is grown in Amravati, Maharashtra. The British built this railway line to transport cotton from Amravati to the Mumbai port. The Central Provinces Railway Company (CPRC) established Killik Nixon & Co. of Britain to build this railway.
The construction of this railway line started in 1903 and was completed in 1916. When India got independence in 1947, Indian Railways entered into an agreement with this company. Therefore, royalty had to be paid to the company every year for using this route.