Ahmedabad–Udaipur line

The Ahmedabad–Udaipur Line is a railway route of both the Western and North Western Railway zones of the Indian Railways. It plays an important role in short-connectivity transport, reaching to North India and Eastern India from Gujarat and the coastal areas of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

Ahmedabad–Udaipur line with Shamlaji–Modasa–Nadiad branch line
Last metre-gauge train between Ahmedabad–Udaipur line
Overview
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Gujarat, Rajasthan
Termini	Ahmedabad Junction Udaipur City
Stations	33
Service
Operator(s)	Western Railway North Western Railway
History
Opened	1879: Ahmedabad–Himmatnagar section 1891: Himmatnagar–Udaipur section 1901: Himmatnagar–Khed Bramha branch 1916: Nadiad–Kapadvanj branch section 1961: Kapadvanj–Modasa branch section
Technical
Line length	Main line: 296 kilometres (184 mi) Branch lines: Himmatnagar-Junction–Khed Bramha 55 kilometres (34 mi) Nadiad–Kapadvanj–Modasa‍–‍Shamlaji Road 138 kilometres (86 mi)
Track length	296 kilometres (184 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Old gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	Yes
Route map km to Mathura–Vadodara section 0 Udaipur City 10 Umra 24 Kharwa Chanda 41 Zawar 50 Padla 64 Jai Samand Road 77 Sur Khund Ka Khera 85 Semari 91 Kundalgarh 99 Rikhabdev Road 109 Kotana 116 Dungarpur 123 Shalashah Thana 131 Shri Bhavnath 138 Bechhiwara Rajasthan Gujarat 150 Jagabor 157 Lusadiya 169\0 Shamlaji Road 186 Raigadh Road 0 Khed Bramha 197 Viravada 10 Vadali 3 Tintoi 17 Kadiyadra 8 Jivanpur 24 Idar 18 Gajan 37 Jadar 23 Modasa 44 Mahadevpara 27 Kalladaka 55\211 Himmatnagar Junction 33 Rahiiyol 217 Hapa Road 40 Dhansura 224 Sonasan 47 Navalpura 233 Prantij 56 Beyad 239 Khari Amrapur 62 Demai 245 Talod 68 Kashipura 250 Kherol 75 Vadali Luter Road 257 Rakhiyal 83 Kapadvanj 261 Jaliya Math 101 Kathalal 270 Nandol Dehegam 103 Bhaner Minawada 277 Dabhoda 107 Mahudha 283 Medra 115 Nadgam 290 Naroda 118 Vina 292 Sardargram 293 Sahijpur 296 Asarva to Jaipur–Ahmedabad line 299 Ahmedabad Junction More Info:Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line 128 Nadiad Junction to Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line ;Sources 19943/44 Udaipur–Ahmedabad Express 52923/24 Khed Bramha–Ahmedabad Passenger 79461/62 Nadiad–Modasa DEMU

With a stretch of 299.55 kilometres (186.13 mi), this corridor passes through the Aravalli Ranges of North Gujarat and the Udaipur division of Rajasthan, where there are zinc and phosphate mines in Zawar and Umra, making it a direct and important mineral transportation route to the rest of India.

Routes and divisions

This mainline route is divided into two sections:

1. The first section is of Ahmedabad–Himmatnagar Junction, with the length of 88 kilometres (55 mi), comes under the jurisdiction of Western Railways.
2. The second section is Himmatnagar Junction–Udaipur City, with a length of 210 kilometres (130 mi), comes under the jurisdiction of North Western Railways.

It also contains two branch lines of this corridor; both come in the Western Railways zone. These are:

1. The first branch line is Himmatnagar Junction–Khed Bramha with a length of 58 kilometres (36 mi)
2. The second branch line is Nadiad–Kapadvanj–Modasa Branch line with the length of 138 kilometres (86 mi)

History

This route was opened in 1879 by Ahmedabad–Parantij Railway up to Prantij and Himmatnagar, and later it was extended in two phases: The first phase was Himmatnagar–Idar which was opened in the same year; then in 1901, the second phase of Idar–Khed Bramha was opened. This gave a total length of 146 kilometres (91 mi) from Ahmedabad and was a metre-gauge railway line.

In 1886 the survey and construction of a 210-kilometre-long (130 mi) Himmatnagar–Udaipur line, also a metre-gauge railway line, was started; rail operations began in 1891 with flagging off Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Ahmedabad Express for direct connection to Delhi and Udaipur from Ahmedabad via Himmatnagar. This 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) line came to be known as the metre-gauge mainline with the other metre-gauge line via Palanpur Junction, Marwar Junction, and Ajmer Junction being called the Chord Line. In 1997, this metre-gauge "Chord Line", via Palanpur, Marwar, and Ajmer Junctions, became a 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad-gauge line called the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad Mainline.

The branch-line of Nadiad–Kapadvanj, a narrow-gauge railway section, was opened on 5 March 1916 by Guzerat Railway Company, with a length of 49 kilometres (30 mi). In 1961, it was converted to broad gauge and in the same year the survey and construction of Kapadvanj–Modasa section, an extension of the branch line, was started with a planned length of 89 kilometres (55 mi). It was halted for two decades, with construction only revived in 2000; it became operational on 28 October 2001, with a total length of 138 kilometres (86 mi) and direct connections to Nadiad.

Gauge conversion

The broad-gauge conversion of the whole mainline from Udaipur to Ahmedabad is complete. Ongoing conversion of the branch lines, jointly carried out by Western Railways and North Western Railways, commenced 1 January 2017. The Modasa–Shamlaji rail line with a length of 26 kilometres (16 mi) is planned for construction; this will connect the Nadiad–Modasa branch line with the Ahmedabad–Udaipur mainline, shortening the routes of Mumbai, Ahmedabad and the rest of Gujarat to North India, with additional direct passenger services.

In this joint project, the first section of the mainline from the Western Railways zone side was fully converted into broad gauge; DEMU (diesel-electrical multiple unit) trains started running on the route from 15 October 2019. The broad-gauge conversion was completed on 10 August 2022, but trains are yet to start. There has as yet been no official inauguration.

A Trial Run of an empty train on the newly constructed broad gauge line.

Current broad-gauge trains

Post completion of the broad-gauge (BG) line, Indian Railways is running a small number of trains on this line, with may be expanded later. Trains currently running on this line are as follows:

• 12981/12982 Jaipur–Asarva Superfast Express (daily)
  • formerly the 9659/60 Lake City Express
• 19703/19704 Asarva–Udaipur Express (daily)
• 19821/19822 Kota–Asarva Express (bi-weekly)
• 19315/19316 Veer Bhumi Chittaurgarh Express (daily)
• 09543/09544 Asarva–Chittaurgarh DEMU (daily)

Expected route extensions or re-introductions

Trains which are slated for extension or re-introduction in the near-future are:

• 12315/12316 Ananya Express extension to Asarva
• 12963/12964 Mewar Express extension to Asarva
• 20971/20972 Shalimar–Udaipur Express extension to Asarva
• 19943/19944 Ahmedabad–Udaipur Express: reintroduced as Okha–Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express
• 19911/19912 Ahmedabad–Udaipur Express: reintroduced as Mumbai–Udaipur Express
• Ahmedabad–Delhi Express (new)
• Udaipur–Chennai Express (new)