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Rajendra B. Aklekar

Goodreads Author

Born

in Mumbai, India

Website

http://www.rajendrabaklekar.com/

Twitter

rajtoday

Genre

Nonfiction, Travel, History

Member Since

December 2014

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Rajendra B. Aklekar (born 1974) is an Indian author and a journalist with interests in railway history, public transport & infra, archiving & documentation and also a trained museologist. He has been a working journalist with nearly 30 years’ experience reporting on Mumbai’s public transport and infrastructure. He is presently with Mid-Day Mumbai as Deputy City Editor, and author of best-selling books on India’s railway history, heritage and trains. He is also the biographer of India’s legendary railway engineer Dr E Sreedharan.

Winner of the 2024 Alfa Awards in the Literature category organised by AlfaCommunications, recepient of the the Ashtagandha Lifetime Achievement Aaward 2022 and the ‘Best Author’ in history and travel category of the Rajendra B. Aklekar (born 1974) is an Indian author and a journalist with interests in railway history, public transport & infra, archiving & documentation and also a trained museologist. He has been a working journalist with nearly 30 years’ experience reporting on Mumbai’s public transport and infrastructure. He is presently with Mid-Day Mumbai as Deputy City Editor, and author of best-selling books on India’s railway history, heritage and trains. He is also the biographer of India’s legendary railway engineer Dr E Sreedharan.

Winner of the 2024 Alfa Awards in the Literature category organised by AlfaCommunications, recepient of the the Ashtagandha Lifetime Achievement Aaward 2022 and the ‘Best Author’ in history and travel category of the Indian Author Awards 2021 organised by the Navi Mumbai Chamber of Business and Industry, his first book with Rupa Publications ‘Halt Station India’ was also short-listed at Bengaluru Literary Festival 2015 for best ‘Non-Fiction of the Year’. The book was also presented a Special Mention Award at the 6th National Convention (2015-16) of the Konkan Itihas Parishad.

With training from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, Aklekar is also certified in museology and has contributed significantly while setting up the Rail Heritage Gallery at the UNESCO-listed Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station, formerly Victoria Terminus building, Bombay and documentation of heritage relics of India’s first railway.

He is also the author of officially published history narrative and coffee table books of Western Railway, Konkan Railway and the B.E.S.T undertaking in Mumbai.

Being a journalist for over 30 years, he has worked in numerous prominent print publications, including The Daily, The Sunday Observer, Hindustan Times, DNA, Mumbai Mirror, Mid-Day, with by-lines in several Marathi publications and prominent websites too. He had been a regular weekly columnist with England’s rail news website RailTube. Aklekar, associated with the Indian Railway Fans’ Club Association, Indian Steam Railway Society, Rail Enthusiasts Society and the Asiatic Society in Mumbai.

His first book Halt Station India- The Dramatic Tale of the Nation’s First Rail Lines (Rupa 2015), released by India’s Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, was about the story of India’s first railway line in Mumbai. The book chronicles the dramatic rise of India’s original rail network, the arrival of the first train, and the subsequent emergence of a pioneering electric line—all in the port city of Bombay. The book was shortlisted at the Bangalore Literature Festival 2015 as best Non-Fiction (English).

This book has also been translated into Marathi by prominent Pune-based publisher Mehta Publishing House.

His second book India’s Railway Man- A Biography of Dr E Sreedharan, (5) also released by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu (Rupa 2017) is the biography of India’s prominent railway engineer Dr E Sreedharan. The biography has been endorsed by Dr Sreedharan personally with a signed note in it. It documents his life story on how this iconic railway man got about building the Konkan Railway along India’s western coast on an extremely difficult terrain to how he introduced the culture of urban Metro rail in India.

This book has also been translated into Marathi by prominent Pune-based publisher Mehta Publishing House.

His next book with Rupa Publications (June 2019) ‘A Short History of Indian Railways’ is a lighter read weaving together anecdotes from 1830s to 2019, taking the reader on a thrilling ride of over two centuries on an ‘express’ time machine. It has been received well by readers.

His another online book ‘The Great Indian Railway Romance’ is a compilation of his weekly news update column that used to appear online on England-based RailTube website.

He has also written a book narrating the story of Konkan Railway officially published by the Konkan Railway. An ...more

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Average rating: 3.99 · 450 ratings · 65 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan 3.85 avg rating — 249 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Halt Station India 4.38 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Short History of Indian Railways 3.91 avg rating — 47 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Short History of Indian Railways 3.81 avg rating — 36 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best 75 Years- Tram, Bus & Energy: The 150-Year-Old Journey of Mumbai’s Public Service Icon did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great Indian Railway Romance: Notes from India for England's rail news aggregator Rail Tube 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Halt Station India: The Dramatic Tale of the Nation's First Rail Lines by Rajendra B. Aklekar (2014-12-01) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	INDIA'S RAILWAYMAN /इंडियाज रेल्वेमॅन / by Rajendra B. Aklekar (Goodreads Author), Anuradha Rao (translator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	THE BEST 75 YEARS - TRAM, BUS & ENERGY: The 150-year-old journey of Mumbai’s public service icon 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The BEST 75 YEARS- TRAM BUS & ENERGY: The 150-year-old journey of Mumbai’s public service icon 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Tape recorded music, phone booths onboard train-- Rajdhani Golden Jubilee evokes nostalgia

• Arrangements for playing tape recorded music through the public address system.
• News in Hindi and English from All India Radio, free newspapers to every passenger free of cost.
• Comfort and luxury of passengers looked after by the train superintendent assisted by a steward.
• In a first there was even a STD PCO in the pantry car in the train in 1990s after a tie-up with VSNL

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Quotes by Rajendra B. Aklekar (?)

“I think the four major pillars of work culture are punctuality, integrity, professional competence, and a sense of social responsibility or accountability. I”
― Rajendra B. Aklekar, India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

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“The triumph of a leader also consists in identifying and grooming a competent successor.”
― Rajendra B. Aklekar, India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

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“If you don’t know your job, you must learn it. If you can’t learn it, engage someone who will help you to execute the job properly. This”
― Rajendra B. Aklekar, India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

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