This train is so special that it has made it to the ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and the question asked was not for Rupees 5000, 10000, or 50000. It was asked as a question for a whopping Rupees. 25 Lakh. The contestant couldn’t manage to answer though.
Presenting to you India’s shortest running passenger train with a huge fan following and loyal commuter base, ‘The Legendary Ait-Konch Shuttle’!!!!
The Ait-Konch Shuttle is a train that runs with just 3 coaches and covers a distance of 13.68 kilometers in 35 minutes, at a sluggish pace of 30 Kilometers per hour. Sounds interesting? What is more interesting is the history behind this.
Konch and Ait are two tiny towns in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and comes under the Jalaun district. The crumbling 15 km road ride from Konch to Ait is a daunting one for bones, young and old. Tempos charge Rs 20 for each passenger and arrive at the destination in one hour.
The train made its first run around 1901-1903, even before the Railway Board was constituted in 1905. Introduced by Britishers, the shuttle was meant to ferry goods and passengers as Konch was a big market for cotton, forest produce, and ghee. The cotton was sent to Manchester for weaving.
When the government decided to discontinue its services in 1997, thousands squatted on the railway line in protest. The railways tried to reason with them and a Rail Bus was sent to Konch to replace the shuttle. But the shuttle remained the locals’ first and only choice.
Three months later, the train was back on track. Since the shuttle was running a loss, with the fare only Rs 2 per head, local traders bought 200 tickets daily to help boost the revenue.
Post-Covid Pandemic, the train has now been restarted as ‘Unreserved Special’ and the ticket is now costing Rs.30/- which was Rs.10/- before.
Nearly 400-500 passengers travel on the train every day. There is no halt on the way but a passenger can flag it down with a wave, or request the guard to let him alight when his village nears. Students and traders from adjoining villages take it to travel to Konch, which is the tehsil headquarters and also has several educational institutions. It is not surprising to find a marriage party traveling by it. Or a railway employee on a joyride.
It continues to run on a loss though….
Here are some glimpses of it.
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