Nangal train a time capsule on tracks of history

The name Bhakra-Nangal usually brings to mind towering dams and a maze of canals.

I grew up in Naya Nangal where my father worked as an electrician for the National Fertilizers Limited. I lived in this quaint town for about 20 years before I left it for higher studies.

One of my best childhood memories is stealing free rides from Nangal station on India’s only free train service. No tickets, no TTE, no fuss.

Every morning at 7:05, a diesel engine, one of three on rotation, still chugs out of Nangal, covering 13.5 km through five stations, three tunnels, one bridge, and postcard-perfect scenery. In just 30 minutes, it reaches Olinda, and is perfectly timed for the return run at 3:05 pm for school kids and office-goers. Operated, funded, and maintained entirely by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), and not the Indian Railways, this ride is a commute for most, but a nostalgia trip for old-timers like me.

Commissioned in 1948 to ferry men and material to the dam site, it began with a steam engine before graduating to imported diesel engines from the United States in 1953. Today, two of those engines are still operational while the third has been retired. Spare parts are scarce, but the BBMB’s maintenance crew meets the challenge with a mix of ingenuity and jugaad.

The train’s three old-style wooden sleeper coaches, built in Karachi before Partition, are like rolling time capsules. No reservations needed here: just hop on and grab a window seat. Passengers range from schoolchildren and villagers to BBMB staff, freeloaders like me, and an occasional goat or bundle of fodder.

Over the years, the BBMB even considered shutting the service, as it brings no tangible financial gain. Fortunately, the decision to keep it going and that too fare-free was taken in honour of its legacy. Because this is not just a train — it’s a moving piece of history, quietly puffing along on tracks of time.

Anil Kumar Saxena, Noida