Beneath the fort
Gwalior's great hilltop fort has watched over the plains of the Chambal for centuries, and Gwalior Junction (code GWL) sits below it on the main line between Delhi and central India. About 100,000 passengers a day pass through, on Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Gatimaan and Vande Bharat trains as well as regional services like the Bundelkhand Express and Chambal Superfast Express. The station belongs to North Central Railway's Jhansi division.
Broad gauge arrives
Gwalior joined the railway map in 1878, when the Agra–Gwalior section was being built; it was completed in 1881, linking the princely capital with Agra and the north. The station was rebuilt in 1940.
The Scindias' tiny railway
Gwalior's most remarkable railway was a private one. In 1899, Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia laid a light narrow-gauge line, just 2 feet (610 mm) between the rails, from Gwalior to Bhind and to Shivpuri. It grew steadily:
- 1904: extended from Gwalior to Sabalgarh.
- 1909: extended from Sabalgarh to Sheopur Kalan.
This Gwalior Light Railway was the narrowest-gauge railway in India, and its little trains became a beloved part of life in the Chambal region for over a century. Operations on the Gwalior–Sheopur Kalan narrow-gauge line finally ended in 2020 to make way for conversion to broad gauge.
A tidy station
Between 1987 and 1992, Gwalior won several Indian Railways awards for clean infrastructure. There are 6 platforms on 16 tracks, at about 212 metres above sea level. A redevelopment costing about ₹290 crore has been proposed under a public–private partnership model.
What to see from GWL
- Gwalior Fort, with the Man Singh Palace and Teli ka Mandir, crowns the city.
- The Jai Vilas Palace houses the Scindia museum.
- The tomb of the musician Tansen draws music lovers every winter for the Tansen Festival.
- Southbound, Jhansi is about an hour and a half away; northbound, Agra and the Taj Mahal are close. Compare trains on our train schedule page.