Project Unigauge

Project Unigauge, started on 1 April 1992,^[1] is an ongoing effort by Indian Railways to convert and unify almost all rail gauges in India to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.

Comparison of different gauges in India with standard gauge

Progress

Year	Gauge
	Broad gauge (BG) (1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in))		Metre gauge (MG) (1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in))		Narrow gauges (NG) (762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft))		All gauges
	Route km	Route share	Route km	Route share	Route km	Route share	Route km
1947[2]	25,170	46.14%	24,153	44.28%	5,225	9.58%	54,548
1971 (Mar)[3]	29,449	49.25%	25,865	43.26%	4,476	7.49%	59,790
1972 (Mar)[3]	30,041	50.01%	25,550	42.54%	4,476	7.45%	60,067
1973 (Mar)[3]	30,126	50.09%	25,547	42.47%	4,476	7.44%	60,149
1974 (Mar)[3]	30,210	50.15%	25,548	42.41%	4,476	7.43%	60,234
1975 (Mar)[3]	30,274	50.20%	25,551	42.37%	4,476	7.42%	60,301
1976 (Mar)[3]	30,497	50.65%	25,427	42.23%	4,292	7.13%	60,216
1977 (Mar)[3]	30,873	50.89%	25,512	42.05%	4,281	7.06%	60,666
1978 (Mar)[3]	30,909	50.93%	25,503	42.02%	4,281	7.05%	60,693
1979 (Mar)[3]	31,130	51.22%	25,366	41.74%	4,281	7.04%	60,777
1980 (Mar)[3]	31,228	51.25%	25,424	41.72%	4,281	7.03%	60,933
1981 (Mar)[3]	31,827	51.97%	25,167	41.10%	4,246	6.93%	61,240
1982 (Mar)[3]	32,290	52.74%	24,694	40.33%	4,246	6.93%	61,230
1983 (Mar)[3]	32,624	53.15%	24,515	39.94%	4,246	6.92%	61,385
1984 (Mar)[3]	32,700	53.21%	24,514	39.89%	4,246	6.91%	61,460
1985 (Mar)[3]	33,553	54.25%	24,051	38.89%	4,246	6.86%	61,850
1986 (Mar)[3]	33,669	54.45%	23,921	38.68%	4,246	6.87%	61,836
1987 (Mar)[3]	33,665	54.46%	23,901	38.67%	4,247	6.87%	61,813
1988 (Mar)[3]	33,832	54.59%	23,898	38.56%	4,246	6.85%	61,976
1989 (Mar)[3]	34,108	55.03%	23,631	38.12%	4,246	6.85%	61,985
1990 (Mar)[3]	34,544	55.53%	23,599	37.93%	4,068	6.54%	62,211
1991 (Mar)[3]	34,880	55.93%	23,419	37.55%	4,068	6.52%	62,367
1992 (Mar)[3]	35,109	56.21%	23,283	37.28%	4,066	6.51%	62,458
1993 (Mar)[3]	36,504	58.42%	21,997	35.20%	3,985	6.38%	62,486
1994 (Mar)[3]	37,824	60.56%	20,653	33.06%	3,985	6.38%	62,462
1995 (Mar)[3]	39,612	63.22%	19,210	30.66%	3,838	6.13%	62,660
1996 (Mar)[3]	40,620	64.56%	18,501	29.41%	3,794	6.03%	62,915
1997 (Mar)[3]	41,971	66.91%	17,044	27.17%	3,710	5.91%	62,725
1998 (Mar)[3]	43,083	68.94%	15,804	25.29%	3,608	5.77%	62,495
1999 (Mar)[3]	44,216	70.40%	15,178	24.17%	3,415	5.44%	62,809
2000 (Mar)[3]	44,383	70.72%	15,013	23.92%	3,363	5.36%	62,759
2001 (Mar)[3]	44,776	71.04%	14,987	23.78%	3,265	5.18%	63,028
2002 (Mar)[3]	45,099	71.43%	14,776	23.40%	3,265	5.17%	63,140
2003 (Mar)[3]	45,622	72.28%	14,364	22.76%	3,136	4.97%	63,122
2004 (Mar)[3]	46,807	74.04%	13,290	21.02%	3,124	4.94%	63,221
2005 (Mar)[3][4]	47,749	75.24%	12,662	19.95%	2,924	4.81%	63,465
2006 (Mar)[3][5]	48,574	76.70%	11,834	18.69%	2,924	4.62%	63,332
2007 (Mar)[3][6]	49,820	78.67%	10,621	16.77%	2,886	4.56%	63,327
2008 (Mar)[3][7]	51,082	80.73%	9,442	14.92%	2,749	4.34%	63,273
2009 (Mar)[3][8]	52,808	82.49%	8,473	13.24%	2,734	4.27%	64,015
2010 (Mar)[3][9]	54,257	84.81%	7,180	11.22%	2,537	3.97%	63,974
2011 (Mar)[3][10]	55,188	85.62%	6,809	10.56%	2,463	3.82%	64,460
2012 (Mar)[3][11]	55,956	86.62%	6,347	9.83%	2,297	3.56%	64,600
2013 (Mar)[3][12]	57,140	87.32%	5,999	9.17%	2,297	3.51%	65,436
2014 (Mar)[13]	58,177	88.40%	5,334	8.11%	2,297	3.49%	65,808
2015 (Mar)[14]	58,825	89.09%	4,908	7.43%	2,297	3.48%	66,030
2016 (Mar)[15]	60,510	90.74%	3,880	5.82%	2,297	3.44%	66,687
2017 (Mar)[16]	61,680	91.56%	3,479	5.16%	2,209	3.28%	67,368
2018 (Mar)[17]	62,049	92.70%	3,201	4.78%	1,685	2.52%	66,935
2019 (Mar)[17]	62,891	93.29%	2,839	4.21%	1,685	2.50%	67,415
2020 (Mar)[18]	63,950	94.10%	2,402	3.54%	1,604	2.36%	67,956
2021 (Mar)[19]	64,403	94.57%	2,112	3.10%	1,588	2.33%	68,103
2022 (Mar)[20]	65,093	95.67%	1,655	2.43%	1,294	1.90%	68,043
2023 (Mar)[21]	65,977	96.20%	1,345	1.96%	1,262	1.84%	68,584
2024 (Mar)[22]	66,820	96.59%	1,159	1.68%	1,202	1.74%	69,181

Lines that were scrapped

These lines were dismantled without a broad-gauge replacement. These were mostly industrial railways, forest railways, etc.

1. Champaner Road – Pani Mines 49 kilometres (30 mi)^[23][24]
2. Godhra Junction – Lunavada 41.5 kilometres (25.8 mi)^[23][24]
3. Mahuva Junction – Velavadar 55 kilometres (34 mi)
4. Than – Chotila 22 kilometres (14 mi)
5. Victor – Dungar Junction 7 kilometres (4.3 mi)
6. Sanganer – Toda Rai Singh 104.4 kilometres (64.9 mi)
7. Ujjain Junction – Agar 68 kilometres (42 mi)
8. Dudhwa – Chandan Chauki 12 kilometres (7.5 mi)
9. Dudhwa – Gauri Phanta 23.3 kilometres (14.5 mi)

Lines which are to be preserved (will not be converted)

These lines have their original gauge preserved as these are identified as heritage railways. Some of these are also among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.

1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 88 kilometres (55 mi) (Narrow Gauge - 610 mm)
2. Kalka–Shimla Railway 96.6 kilometres (60.0 mi) (Narrow Gauge - 762 mm)
3. Kangra Valley Railway 164 kilometres (102 mi) (Narrow Gauge - 762 mm)
4. Matheran Hill Railway 21 kilometres (13 mi) (Narrow Gauge - 610 mm)
5. Nilgiri Mountain Railway 46 kilometres (29 mi) (Meter Gauge - 1000 mm)

See also

• Future of rail transport in India
• List of gauge conversions