The National Rail Museum (NRM)

The National Rail Museum (NRM) is no longer merely a place where the rich heritage of the Indian Railways is preserved for posterity to see and admire. It is now a suitable platform and forum from where social groups, professional agencies, non-governmental organisations and other heritage bodies can launch social programmes and campaigns.

It is in this light that the Australian High Commission, the NRM and the Railway Women�s Welfare Central Organisation (RWWCO) came together for the first time to launch the Clean-up-the-World Campaign (CUTW) 2001 on September 18, 2001. The whole idea behind CUTW was to generate consciousness about creating a better and friendly ambience in NRM, provide better service to its visitors, use NRM as a platform to usher in peace in the world, focus on social issues, generate environmental awareness among schools, and most of all, highlight the role of volunteers and support groups in achieving all these ends.

The CUTW campaign also underlined the importance of keeping the rail system clean for the convenience of millions of passengers. The launch is being seen as a significant milestone in the on-going drive initiated by NRM and the Railways to clean up and make the railways greener.

For the NRM, the campaign was an Asia-Pacific initiative for heritage partnership between Australia and India. The Australian High Commission has been carrying on this campaign on an ad hoc basis for several years. For the first time, CUTW was accorded a national perspective. In this context, Rob Laurie, High Commissioner of Australia, was the guest of honour for the function.

Twenty schools from Delhi were invited to participate in the campaign. In all, the students planted 500 saplings on NRM�s grounds. Around 1,000 saplings were also planted by the NRM. Meena Malhotra, president of RWWCO, herself planted saplings. The participation of RWWCO was important because it is one of the largest and most resourceful NGOs in the country, and will carry this initiative to other parts of India

In his address, Sandy Hollway, former CEO Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic games, stressed upon the role of volunteers and other support groups in cleaning up the environment. Volunteers and support groups had played a vital role in making the Sydney Olympics a success story.

School children articulated their views on how they could play a catalytic role in making the campaign a success in their respective schools.

A whole new experience

The National Rail Museum is a prime attraction and the focus of India�s vast rail heritage consisting of steam locomotives, unique constructions and many works of genius spanning over 150 years. Inaugurated on February 1, 1977, the museum, located in the heart of the national capital, boasts an elegant display of exhibits, working and dummy models and records. It has a collection of 100 specially selected steam locomotives and saloons of the bygone era. Guided tours, library, videos, multimedia kiosks, an island cafeteria, green and tranquil surroundings, rides on the joy train and mono rail steam train of the maharaja of Patiala also make it an ideal getaway for all age groups. A visit to NRM is educational, stimulating and enlightening. For more details, write to National Rail Museum, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021 or dial: 011-6881816/6880939.