Thal Ghat

Thal Ghat
Compass direction	southwest	Northeast
Pass height	585  m
	Maharashtra , India
Valley locations	Kasara	Igatpuri
expansion	Highway	railroad
Built	Railway: 1865
Mountains	Western Ghats
particularities	Ghat
map
Coordinates	19 ° 40 '12 "  N , 73 ° 28' 48"  E Coordinates: 19 ° 40 '12 "  N , 73 ° 28' 48"  E

Thal Ghat
Freight train with steam locomotive climbs the Thal Ghat. Photo from 1924 at Block & Catch Siding Cabin 3 , looking south. The catch siding is visible behind the train .
Route length:	14 km
Gauge :	1676 mm ( colonial track )
Power system :	until February 19, 2006: 3 kV  =
Power system :	until February 19, 2006: 25 kV  ~
Maximum slope :	27  ‰
Minimum radius :	340 m
Legend from Mumbai Kasara 308  m Tunnel No. 1 Reversing station until around 1924 Guard rail Block & Catch Siding Cabin 3 Guard rail Tunnel No. 2, without down-line Guard track, up-line Tunnel No. 3 Block & Catch Siding Cabin 2 Tunnel No. 4th only down-line Tunnel No. 5 Tunnel No. 6th Guard track, up and middle line Block & Catch Siding Cabin 1 Tunnel No. 7th only down-line Tunnel No. 8, only up-line only down-line Guard track, up-line 21st Igatpuri 599  m to Pune

Thal Ghat , also Tal Ghat , Thull Ghat , Thul Ghat , Thul Ghaut or Kasara Ghat , is a pass at 585 m above sea level about 90 km northeast of Mumbai in the Western Ghats . The ghat is on the trade route from Mumbai to Agra and creates a connection to the Dekkan Plateau. The Thal Ghat together with the Bhor Ghat are the only places near Mumbai where the railroad can cross the Western Ghats. The traffic routes cross the pass from Kasara to Igatpuri , both places are in the Indian state of Maharashtra .

railroad

Route description

The route over the Thal Ghat was created by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) and opened in 1865. The original 15.3 km long route had a hairpin and had 6 bridges and 13 tunnels. The bridges had lengths between 25 and 55 m, all tunnels together a length of 2.4 km.

In 1924 the hairpin was abolished and replaced by a new, shorter route so that the route was only 14 km long. It now had only four larger bridges and eight tunnels.

The three tracks on the Kasara – Igatpuri line are called the  Up-Line ,  Middle-Line  and  Down-Line  . The names have no relation to the trains going uphill or downhill, but to the directions as specified in the timetable, which is why the trains going downhill use the up-line.

Igatpuri train station  and block stations 1 and 3 are equipped with so-called catch sidings , in German `` catching or  protective tracks ''. They are used to bring trains traveling downhill to a safe stop if the brakes fail. Should a train not be able to brake, it is led into the guard rail, which leads steeply uphill and thus brings the train to a stop.

business

At first steam locomotives were used for passenger and freight trains. The operation on the mountain route was complex. In the 1920s, for example, a 1450 t freight train had to be run with a 1'E steam locomotive, which was additionally supported by a four-coupler tank locomotive in the middle of the train and at the end of the train.

In 1929, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway began operating on the line from Bombay (Mumbai) to Igatpuri with 1500 volts direct current . The locomotives used were based on Swiss technology and were mostly built under license in England.

The freight trains were run by locomotives of the EF / 1 class , which were later called WCG-1 class by Indian Railways and belong to the family of crocodile locomotives . These locomotives were also used to push passenger trains. Two locomotives of the EF / 1 class could drive a 1000 t freight train uphill, while 1600 t were allowed downhill.

The locomotives of the EA / 1 class , which Indian Railways referred to as the WCP-1 class, were used in front of the passenger and express trains . When delivered, they were the fastest mass-produced electric locomotives in the world with a top speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km / h).

• 

  EA / 1 class for passenger trains

• 

  EF / 1 class for freight trains

The locomotives from the early days of electrical operation showed signs of age towards the end of the 1960s. Initially, they were to be replaced by locomotives of the WCM class , which, however, did not prove their worth in freight trains.

Therefore, from 1970 locomotives of the class WCG-2 were procured. When delivered, these locomotives were the heaviest and most powerful locomotives available from Indian Railways. They led the freight trains over the Thal Ghat and pushed the passenger trains over the pass.

In February 2006, electrical operation was switched from direct to alternating current. The pushing service was taken over by WAG-9 locomotives.

Web links

Commons : Kasara ghat  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mountain Passes of Deccan Plateau, Eastern, Western Ghats - QuickGS.com . In: QuickGS.com . February 8, 2016 ( quickgs.com [accessed January 3, 2018]).
2. ^ William Wilson Hunter: The Indian Empire: Its People, History, and Products . AES Publications, New Delhi, 2005, ISBN 81-206-1581-6 (Reprint from Trübner & Co., London, 2nd edition, 1886), p. 36, accessed on December 4, 2017 (English). Physical features. In: The Gazetteers Department. Maharashtra government website, archived from original on May 1, 2008 ; accessed on December 4, 2017 (English). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Hill Lines of India. In: Mike's Railway History. Accessed January 5, 2018 . 
4. ^ Great Indian Peninsula Railway - Climbing the Ghaut Inclines. In: Wikimedia Commons. 1924, accessed January 5, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Anirban Das Gupta: A Brief History of Railway Electrification in India . Indian Railways Reports (IRFCA), September 2010, accessed December 4, 2017.
6. ^ ^{A b} The Electric Locomotive Roster: DC & AC / DC Electrics . In: 24 coaches . October 18, 2014 ( 24coaches.com [accessed January 3, 2018]).
7. ^ Central Railway: History. In: Indian Railways Portal. Retrieved January 2, 2018 .