The 33-km Dabhoi-Miyagam line, India’s first narrow gauge railway stretch which started operations in 1862, will be closed forever.
The line will soon be converted into broad gauge.
The line was designed by a British engineer named A.W.Ford.
Steam engines were deployed in the year 1863, when Maharaja Khanderao of Baroda State purchased three steam locomotives.
The ministry of railways (Railway Board) had identified the Dabhoi-Miyagam line of Western Railway as one of the five narrow gauge lines that can be preserved for promoting heritage tourism in the country.
The other lines which were identified for preservation are the Miyagam-Malsar line (38 km), the Charonda-Moti Karal line (19 km), the Pratap Nagar-Jambusar line (51 km) and the Bilmora-Waghi line (63 km).
The five railway lines are collectively 204 km long in Gujarat, built by the erstwhile princely state of Baroda.