India once had a Nawab so wealthy he built his own railway station—inside his palace. That Nawab was Hamid Ali Khan of Rampur.
In the early 1900s, when ordinary Indians struggled to afford train fare, the Nawab constructed a 40-km private rail line from Milak to his Rampur Palace in Uttar Pradesh. His personal train, complete with guards, cooks, and servants, would arrive right at his doorstep.
The train itself was a palace on wheels: four royal coaches with chandeliers, Persian rugs, teakwood furniture, and even two separate kitchens—one for Indian vegetarian meals and another for English-style non-veg.
After Partition, the Nawab used his train to ferry people to Pakistan. In 1954, he donated two of the coaches to the Indian government. They remained in service until 1966, the year he died.
Once the privy purse was abolished, the station inside Rampur Palace was abandoned. Today, it’s a forgotten relic of a time when royalty could summon a train from their living room.
