It is sad how in today’s day and age, our knowledge about things around us tends to be highly textual. The only trivia that has ever mattered to us is the kind they often test us on in general knowledge aptitude tests or quizzes. However, there is something really exciting about the uninitiated. In fact, trivia about otherwise mundane things is enough to spark a person’s interest in that area!
So to trigger your interest, here are five fun facts about the Indian Railways:
The IR Mascot
The official IR mascot is an elephant named ‘Bholu’. He was designed by the National Institute of Design, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Indian Railways. Bholu is presented as a train guard holding a signal lamp with a green light in one hand. The green light is the symbol of movement which assures trains and passengers to go ahead with safety and without fear.
The next time you travel by the Indian Railways, do keep an eye out for the Bholu insignia!
UNESCO World Heritage Site
There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites connected to the Indian Railways – The Mountain Railways of India and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Teminus which was formerly known as Victoria Terminus. The Victoria Terminus is an amazing blend of Gothic art with Indian architecture. The Indian Mountain Railways includes three railways – the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, Nilgiri Mountain Railways and Kalka Shimla Railway. All three railways established more than a hundred years ago are fully operational to this day.
Remember the train scenes from Jab We Met and Barfi? They were shot on the Darjeeling and Shimla line respectively.
Extremeties
Northernmost railway station is Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir. Westernmost is Naliya near Bhuj in Gujarat. Southernmost railway station is Kanyakumari, while the last station on the east of India is Ledo on branch line from Tinsukia.
Resonance Frequency
The railway coach is designed with a resonance frequency of suspension of 1.2 Hz.This is the same frequency that the human body is most comfortable with.
This is probably the reason why most people sleep easily during train journeys!
Monetary Compensation
Now, a lot of us have this tendency of associating government jobs with low salary. But, it’s highly interesting to note, that an average loco pilot a.k.a train driver earns more than a lot of people in the private sector. For example, a loco pilot on the Rajdhani Express earns around 1 lakh per month.
Feature Image Credits: www.evartha.in
Kriti Sharma
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