Ahmedabad's last unelectrified railway || Exploring the Gandhigram-Botad line

19/12/2023

Not counting the Asarva-Udaipur line as Asarva is wired up, the Gandhigram-Botad line is the last unelectrified line in Ahmedabad and possibly Gujarat itself. Electrification work is in progress here, like the rest of the country. This journey covers only part of the line due to time constraints, till Dholka.

What's unique about this line is Gandhigram. One, it's a pole free station well within the centre of the big metropolis that is Ahmedabad. Two, the building is combined for both rail and Metro services!! Due to time constraints, couldn't explore the Metro, but I'm pretty sure that would be nice to experience. Another thing to note is that this line was inaugurated with 110 kmph MPS right after gauge conversion, an honor which many lines across the country still take years to achieve after inauguration. This is one of the last stretches in the country where ALCos are in active mainline service, frequently hauling various shuttle/passenger services between Gandhigram and Botad.