Train delays are a common headache in India, especially during winter when journeys of 2–3 hours stretch to 6–7 hours or more. But did you know about the train that holds the record for India's longest delay? What should have been a 42-hour journey astonishingly took 3 years, 8 months, and 7 days to complete!

The accident occurred in 2014 when a goods train was traveling from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Basti in Uttar Pradesh. The train was transporting diammonium phosphate (DAP), which is a much-needed fertilizer. On November 10, 2014, businessman Ramchandra Gupta from Basti ordered a product for his business worth ₹14 lakh from Indian Potash Limited.

The shipment consisting of 1,316 sacks of DAP was loaded onto the train and left Visakhapatnam on schedule. But what followed was nothing short of bizarre: instead of completing the 42-hour journey, the train took nearly 4 years to deliver the goods.

How did it happen?

While passenger train delays are frustrating, such extreme delays for goods trains are incredibly rare. The reasons behind this mind-boggling delay remain unclear, but it highlights the logistical challenges and inefficiencies that sometimes plague India’s railway system.

For Gupta, what started as a routine business transaction turned into an unthinkable wait spanning over three years.

The train is believed to have been left stationary in a yard for a long time because one of its coaches or bogies was considered unfit for travel. It eventually reached Basti station on July 25, 2018. Sadly, by then, the fertiliser had been completely ruined after remaining idle for over three years.

This goods train now holds the unfortunate title of India’s longest train delay—a record unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon. While the story has its share of frustration and irony, it also underlines the importance of improving logistical systems to ensure such incidents are not repeated.

For most trains in India, delays of a few hours are bad enough. But for this goods train, the clock quite literally ran for years.