Celebrating the rich history of India’s vast railway network, Google Arts and Culture with the Ministry of Railways has launched a new project recently, which is first of its kind in its own approach. It brings, more than 160 years old stories of Indian Railways, now at your fingertips. It’s a virtual museum that accumulates more than 3,000 photographs and 150 videos and is accessible on the Google Arts and Culture website and application.
Unlike a typical museum, this app has loads of data about Indian Railways including the mountain rails in the Nilgiris to the local trains(not the Metros) in Delhi. Here viewers can dig up a few courses that they may have been ignorant about.
Taking this digital story-telling concept a step higher, the app narrates point by point route maps from the chronicles, an outdated collection of railway timetables and scenes from pre-freedom life in India’s rail way colonies, which will definitely be appreciated by the rail fans.
Interestingly with this particular tech, one can have a 360 degrees view of a few trains on the computer or smart phone screen. Whether it is Jodhpur Royal Saloon, the Calcutta Tram or the Himalayan Princess Train and more. The digital display ‘Trains on Screen’ tells us the story of ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ the iconic song being shot on the Darjeeling Toy Train.
Moreover, this virtual railway museum has something that you wouldn’t discover anywhere else which includes the trackmen, the engineers, the station masters and superintendents—about the people who keep the trains running throughout the nation.
Being available with tip of a finger, the best part of such concept is that people neither have to queue for tickets nor do they have to pay for it.
