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Dhulghat Spiral

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Legend
Mathura–Vadodara section
Ratlam Junction
Mathura–Vadodara section
Nauganwan
Pritam Nagar
Runjia
Sunderabad
Barnagar
Pirjhalar
Gautampura Road
Osra
Fatehabad Chandwatiganj
Ajnod
Balauda Takun
Palia
Indore–Gwalior line
Laxmibai Nagar
Indore Junction
Saifee Nagar
Lokmanya Nagar
Rajendra Nagar
Rau
Indore–Dahod line
Haranya Kheri
Mhow
Dr. Ambedkar Nagar
Manmad–Indore line
PatalPani
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Mukhtiara Balwada
Barwaha
Omkareshwar Road
Sanawad
NTPC Khargone
Nimar Kheri
Kotla Kheri
Attar
Ajanti
Jabalpur–Bhusaval section
Khandwa Junction
Jabalpur–Bhusaval section
Mordar
Jirwan
Takal
Gurhi
Amlakhurd
Ratnapur
Tukhaitad
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
border
Dabka
Dhulghat
Dhulghat Spiral
Wan Road
Hiwarkhed
Adgaon Buzurg
Akot
Patsul
Gandhi Smarak Road
Ugwe
Nagpur–Bhusawal section
Akola Junction
Nagpur–Bhusawal section
Kacheguda–Manmad section
5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
broad gauge
metre gauge

Dhulghat Spiral is located in Amravati district in state of Maharashtra in India. It is a unique spiral located on Akola-Khandwa metre gauge section of South Central Railway of India.

It is also called 'Char Cha Akda' in Marathi and 'Char Ka Aankda' in Hindi, both meaning 'Digit of Four' due to its shape similar to that of '4' in Devnagari script.

Location

The spiral is located between Wan Road and Dhulghat stations on Akola - Ratlam metre gauge railway line, at around 2 kilometres from Dhulghat station towards Akola. The area is covered by forests and hills through which the Akola - Ratlam metre gauge railway line traverses. Latitude 21.282, longitude 76.765.

Structure

The spiral consist of a 193 metres long steel viaduct across a shallow valley. Train arrives to this viaduct from Akola. The viaduct leads the track to a circular path around a hill. After circumnavigating the hill, the track arrives nearly parallel to the approach from Akola, but at a significantly lower altitude. This low level track passes below the first of the sixteen bridge girders towards Dhulghat station and Khandwa. The train normally takes around four minutes to complete its journey along the spiral.

Historical and current usage

The spiral was a part of metre gauge line from Ajmer in Rajasthan to Kacheguda in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana) under South Central Railway. Due to the gauge conversions in recent times, the route is now shortened to Akola in Maharashtra to Fatehbad Chandrawati Ganj in Madhya Pradesh. However, this unique spiral may soon be decommissioned because of the planned gauge conversion of Akola-Ratlam section.

How to reach

The spiral can be approached from Akola which is a railway station on Mumbai-Howrah main line and Khandwa which is located on Mumbai - Delhi main line (via Bhusaval, Itarsi) of Indian Railway.

References

  1. "The IRFCA Photo Gallery : A Day at Dhulghat". Irfca.org. Retrieved 8 February 2019.


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