The Darshan Express (Miraj Jn - Hazrat Nizamuddin) was initially started between Pune & Delhi due to Single line constraints between Pune & Miraj. Then, post-doubling, Electrification & demands, the train was extended to Miraj Junction with halts at Jejuri, Satara, Karad & Sangli on a weekly basis.
History
The Miraj station, which is run by the Central Railway, has been established in the history of the Southern Maratha Railway Company. Railway lines were constructed between Koregaon and Miraj in June 1887 by the Southern Maratha Railway Company. Soon after the success of the railway on this route, the Miraj to Belgaum railway was constructed in December 1887. As the importance of the Miraj station in the Sangli district came to the attention of the South Maratha Railway Company, the company decided to rapidly expand the Miraj station and the trains running through this route.
The Southern Maratha Railway was merged with the Madras Railway Company. Indian Railways took over the railway system from Madras Railway in 1944, but the Government of India had to wait until 1949 to take over the system in Miraj because during that time the Miraj-Kolhapur railway line was being run by Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, and the Miraj-Sangli railway line was being run by Patwardhan Sarkar of Sangli. After the merging of the institutions, both railway stations were taken over by the Government of India. In 1952, a start was made for the reorganization of the railways. After that, various departments of railways were established to expand the railways. Accordingly, both Miraj and Kolhapur stations were given to the then South-Central Railway. At the same time, the Pune-Bangalore, Miraj-Sangli, and Miraj-Kolhapur meter gauge railway lines were given to the South Central Railway, and the Miraj-Latur narrow gauge railway line was given to the Central Railway. After that, the development of the expansion of the railway in Miraj has slowed down. The Miraj to Koregaon rail line was completed in June 1887, and the Koregaon to Pune line in November 1890.
The Londa-Belgaum railway was started in 1887 and the Belgaum Miraj railway was started in December 1887. As the number of passengers on the railway increased gradually, the trains were also expanded.
The task of creating an identity for Miraj railway station was done by the then South Central and now South Western Railways. The Miraj railway station was included in the Central Railway to further the mainstreaming of the Miraj station on the Maharashtra border.
Miraj has been known for its Geographical location feasibility and excellent connectivity through Rail and Roadways centrally located in many Districts of Maharashtra & Karnataka.
A new railway line from Kudachi to Bagalkote is under construction to further develop railway connectivity from Miraj to important cities of Karnataka like Vijayapura/Bijapur, Bagalkote, Jamkhandi, Athani, Gadag due to huge footfall of Passengers to Miraj for Medical Treatments.
Background
Before 1994, Miraj had a unique combination of three different gauges:
Miraj had a Steam loco shed in the past near the current Miraj- Bangalore line. Locomotives of the Miraj loco shed ran up to Dharmawaram. After the steam Locomotives were discontinued from service in the '90s, the Miraj loco shed was permanently closed. Trains like Bangalore Mail, Poona Mail, Kittur Express, Mandovi MG Express, Gomantak MG Express, Goa Express, and Koyna Express originated From Miraj Junction.
Currently,[when?] the Rani Chennamma Express still originates from Miraj Junction railway station.
Miraj junction has facilities for coach maintenance and locomotive maintenance. All DEMU trains of Miraj-Kolhapur, Miraj-Pune, Miraj-Parali, Miraj-Satara, and Miraj-Kurduwadi routs are maintained here.
Jaldoot water train
Due to the drought the Latur city faced for three consecutive years, the summer of 2016 presented itself with extreme scarcity of water. To overcome this issue, a joint project was then requested by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. After further research, and many changes in plan, Miraj was chosen to transport water to Latur from 342 km.[1] The "Jaldoot" train made its first experimental run on 11 April 2016, carrying 10 tanker wagons, each filled with 50,000 liters of water.[2]
As of 2023, Miraj is the Highest revenue-generating Railway station under the A1 category of Pune Division after Pune & Falls.
After completing the doubling and electrification of the entire Pune-Miraj-Bangaluru line, many new trains will start from Miraj towards Chennai, Nanded, Howrah, Mangalore, etc.
Station Expectation/lack of Facility
Miraj railway station is always neglected by the railways. No new trains have started from the Miraj railway station in the last several years. In addition, no new trains have been extended to Miraj.
Hubli Division is desperate due to the indifference of Pune Division
A large number of passengers travel from Miraj railway station on all four routes namely Pune, Solapur, Belgaum, and Kolhapur. Passengers are facing inconvenience as railway trains are not available. Because of this, the expansion of railway trains along with the introduction of new railway trains has been the demand of railway passenger organizations including the Miraj Railway Action Committee for the last several years.
Miraj junction will be developed as a Model station by RLDA in coming years.
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