What are some amazing facts about the Indian Railways?

Income of Loco-pilots go as high up to Rs 1 Lakh per monthTrain drivers, also known as Loco-pilots, are paid more than an average software engineer.

The Indian Railways started in the year 1853, and till 1908, there were no toilets in the train. It Never had a toilet for 50 long years.

So, to answer nature’s call, passengers would have to wait for the train to stop at the next station. Only after a passenger named Okhil Chandra Sen who wrote a hilarious letter to the Indian railways, thereafter toilets were introduced in the trains. This was that letter.

Some time ago, it was possible to reach Colombo by trainThe Boat Mail Express was a train and steamer ferry service between India and Sri Lanka. In the late 19th century, the railway route in India was from Madras to Tuticorin. At Tuticorin, passengers embarked on a steamer to Colombo.

Connecting Chennai and Colombo, the system initially utilised a rail-to-sea operation, but changed to a rail-to-sea-to-rail operation. After the Pamban Bridge was built, the train's route changed and it went from Madras to Dhanushkodi. A much shorter ferry service then took the passengers to Talaimannar in Ceylon, from where another train went to Colombo.

Unfortunately in 1964 a passenger train was washed into the sea by huge waves during the in 1964 cyclone, when nearing Dhanushkodi. The railway tracks and the pier at Dhanushkodi were also destroyed. Following this, the Indian portion of this train service now only operates up to Rameswaram, while the ferry service to Talaimannar has since been discontinued.

Image Source : Google Images
Source : Boat Mail - Wikipedia
Facts About Indian Railways You Never Knew

credit: Aayushi 

2source: quora

(that letter is really hilarious :D)