A journey of 134km for 6 hrs.…
The Naliya Queen, a passenger train which originated from Gandhidam, every morning on weekdays ran on a single narrow gauged track connecting about a dozen remote villages of Kutch District till Naliya Cantt. This unassuming commute was treated as a royalty by the villagers as it carried water tankers and other commodities for their homes.
It boasted of 2 classes-the first class bogie which had the cushioned seats and the second class with wooden ones. There was an absolute nil nuisance of eats and mineral water vendors.
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| The Lonely Platform At Naliya Cantt |
Naliya Queen had to travel through 2-3 unmanned railway crossing in the course of its journey. Its engine driver was deputed the additional job of shutting the gates… hence the train would stop just before the crossing, for him to get down and close the gates, he would then board the train and take the wheels. Likewise the train stopped after crossing the gate, for the guard to open them up and with the green flag waving off the train would move on…
This exercise was done meticulously both ways, to and fro. This train also had the responsibility of reaching Gandhidam back before late evening for its passengers to take their connecting trains to other destinations. As an appreciation for its law abiding merits, the connecting trains would wait patiently for an extra few minutes, for its arrival on their alloted platforms.
Though this train was initially scheduled for military purposes, it later took the role of a passenger train, then was continued for heritage status. With the broad gauge conversion till Bhuj in the year 2000 and more luxurious modes of road transport, along with the havoc played by cyclones and earthquake in this region, Naliya Queen met its natural death.
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| Naliya Cantt Railway Station (1999) |
15 comments:
Hi,
I stayed in Naliya for quite some time as my father was posted there and I have travelled in Naliya Queen. It is one of the sweetest memories I will carry for my life. I am extremely sad to know that the train is disconitnued and stumbled accross an Image of tracks at mothala halt lying it delapilated condition.
I wish I could visit those places. and I hope the train is again started from Bhuj to Naliya atleast.
Thanks for ur comment. The tenure at such remote places have a beauty in it. And the journey in this train can never be forgotten nor erased...
Like the saying goes ' You come to Naliya crying and leave the place crying...'
Dear Sudha,
I lived there from 1992 till 1995.
And I i completely agree with the sayin" You come to Naliya crying and leave the place crying"
It was considered to be the worst posting for airmen. But it always went on the become the best moments in their life....
thanks for the photographs you posted..... nostalgic...
cheers
We were there from 1988-90. Never will there be an IAF station with so much fond memories for me. I finished my 4th and 5th standards there. The school, Jakhau, the fisherman who used to come on his Yezdi, Shiva the only sweeper for the whole campus, Kutti's grocery shop. Its all legend. Best parties ever!!
Thank u so much for adding to the nostalgic memories of Naliya.. How can one forget Kutti's veg shop :)
Hey, I stayed there too from 1998-2000.. and there was a park in which there was a broken helicopter.. do you remember that?
I was in Naliya in 1997-98, I studied in KV,as my father is in Air Force posted there, I enjoyed travelling in Naliya Queen several time, I saw Border, Gupt,salakhen, The Rock movies in theatre in only 6 rupees and enjoyed kutti amma cold drinks in 3 rupees. Wow those were the days.
I was in Naliya in 1997-98, I studied in KV,as my father is in Air Force posted there, I enjoyed travelling in Naliya Queen several time, I saw Border, Gupt,salakhen, The Rock movies in theatre in only 6 rupees and enjoyed kutti amma cold drinks in 3 rupees. Wow those were the days.
Beautiful...
There was a conductor in the train to issue tickets I believe. A Bhaba compartment was also there where we could find only bhabas travelling from and to Ram Mandir which was between Bhuj and naliya. The most beautiful thing was the ring which the driver used to through to the signal men for clearance.
Yes, I use to play a lot in that helicopter. I tried searching for it in gmaps now but couldn't find it. Staying in Naliya was such a memorable and delightful experience.
I was there during the same time, which class were you in ?
Bhuj naliya track par train kab shuru hogi ?
The park where the helicopter was parked was called as Helicopter Park. We used to play cricket in that park. The helicopter was later on shifted to the technical area after some basic repair & painting.
This happenned when I was there during 2005-08.
We used to have section picnics at Naliya Cantt. The train stopped running by the time my father got posted to Naliya
True, I was there in 1997-99, it was the memorable time and ofcourse the journey of naliya queen is the unique despite travelling across India. I still have a group of my classmate of KV naliya. Miss those days, It's tough to believe that 25 years have past now
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