Train takes 4 hrs to cover 44 km!

VADODARA: Now here is a train which a moped can beat hands down. You will never find anyone rushing in to catch the narrow gauge Pratapnagar-Jambusar passenger train. There is no need to because even when it 'hurtling' at a 'breakneck' speed, the maximum its speedometer touches is 12 km per hour. It is arguably the slowest train in India, chugging to cover 44 km in over three-and-half-a-hours.A two-wheeler covers the distance in an hour. No wonder not many passengers can be seen in it.
The slow pace even allows the co-driver of the train to double up as a gateman at crossings. He alights from the train to close the gate and once it passes through, he opens the gate for traffic. He then manages to reach the engine again with the train still moving.
Passengers board or alight from the train even as it is moving and people stroll on the track as it chugs onto the platform. Even cattle do not fear it as they cross the tracks while it is approaching them.
While the Agra-Shatabdi Express, running at a speed of 150 km per hour, boasts of being the fastest in the country, the Nilgiri Express with an average speed of 10 kmph has the distinction of being India's slowest train. But officials in Vadodara division differ and claim that the Nilgiri Express runs on a hilly terrain, which automatically reduces its speed.
The train that used to run at 30 kmph till last year was suspended after torrential rains damaged the tracks. The service was resumed on March 11 after tracks were repaired. "As the track was damaged in the rain, we decided to slow its pace from 30 kmph to 20 kmph," says a railway official. The train, however, runs well below the stipulated limit.
When TOI took a ride in the train, there were not more than 20 passengers against the capacity of around 150 seats. "The train was started due to people's demand," said Vadodara divisional railway manager KL Pandey.