On April 16, 1853, the first passenger train in India ran from Mumbai’s Bori Bunder to Thane, Maharashtra. So, look at this blog to explore the history of Indian railways, including industrial railways, passenger trains, and the story of electrification and modernization. The running of first train in India was a historic day, and 400 lucky passengers got opportunity for this once-in-a-lifetime excursion. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was the first to run a train.
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History of the First Train in India
In 1832, the idea of creating a railway system in India was first proposed. Train travel in Britain was still in its infancy at the time, but the East India Company saw the significance of creating a comprehensive rail network. Lord Hardinge, who is a Governor-General of India at that time. He permitted private entrepreneurs to build a rail system. Two companies, i.e., “Great Indian Peninsula Railway” and the “East Indian Railway Company,” were established in 1845.
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The first railway in India went from Bori Bunder to Thane, covering approximately 34 kilometers. In 1880, a network of roughly 14,500 kilometers was developed around the three major port towns of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. The Railway Board was established in 1901 under the Department of Commerce and Industry’s direction. Regardless, the Viceroy was given authority.
History of Indian Railways
1832–1852: Industrial Railways
| 1832 | The first railway proposal in India was made at Madras. |
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| 1835 | Chintadripet, near Madras, was the site of an experimental small railway line. |
| 1873 | The country's first train ran from Red Hills to Madras' Chintadripet Bridge. It was pulled by a spinning steam locomotive engine. The engine was conceived by Arthur Cotton and manufactured by William Avery. Granite stone was transported by the Railway. |
| 1845 | Near Rajahmundry, a railway was in service. The Godavari Dam Construction Railway was also developed by Arthur Cotton near Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry. A dam across the Godavari, as well as construction supplies and stone for irrigation, were supplied. |
| 8 May 1845 | The East India Railway was formed after the Madras Railway. |
| 1 Aug 1849 | An Act of Parliament established the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR). |
| 17 Aug 1849 | The "Guarantee System" was created to give free land and a guaranteed 5% profit to private British railway construction companies. |
| 1851 | The locomotive Thomason was utilised to start building work at Roorkee. |
| 1852 | Madras Guaranteed Railway Company is established. |
1853–1924: Passenger Railways and Expansion
| 1853 | The first train in India departs Bombay (now Mumbai) towards Thane on April 16th. The train was pulled by three steam locomotive engines, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan, and had 14 carrriages. It covered around 34 kilometres and transported approximately 400 people. |
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| 1854 | From Howrah to Hooghly, the first passenger train in the eastern portion was run (24 miles). |
| 1854 | The Bombay-Thane GIPR line was double-tracked and extended to Kalyan. |
| 1855 | The BB&CI Railway was formed and commenced construction on a railway connecting Surat and Baroda. In the north-east, the Thane-Kalyan line was extended to Vasind. The EIR Express and Fairy Queen steam locomotives were also launched in August of the same year. |
| 1856 | The Madras Railway Company developed the Royapuram-Wallajah Rail line. The Madras Railway Company launches its first train service in the south on July 1, from Royapuram/Veyasarapady (Madras) to Wallajah Road (Arcot). Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway, which was a guaranteed railway, was created afterwards. The Madras Railway built its first workshop in Perambur, near Madras. |
| 1862 | Jamalpur Loco Works was established. Renigunta has been added to the Madras Railway line. |
| 1863 | The GIPR line was built from Bombay to Pune, crossing the Bhore Ghat. The first luxury carriage was created. |
| 1866 | The Central Public Works Department established the Railway Branch. |
| 1874 | In Bombay, a horse-drawn tramway began service between Colaba and Parel. |
| 1920 | Electric signal illumination was made available. It was first used in Bombay between Currey Road and Dadar. |
1925–1946: Electrification and Further Expansion
| 1925 | The first Railway budget was given. The first electric railway ran on the GIPR's Harbour branch from Victoria Terminus to Kurla on 3 February. VT-electrification Bandra's was also completed. Locomotive Standard Committee also adopted. |
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| 1926 | The Kurla-Kalyan segment was electrified with a 1,500 V DC power supply. The Charbagh/Lucknow Railway Station was constructed. |
| 1927 | The suburban lines of the BB&CI were extended to Borivali and Virar. 8-coach EMU rakes were launched on the main line in Mumbai, and 4-coach rakes on the Harbour-line. |
| 1928 | The Bandra-Virar segment was electrified with a 1,500 V DC power supply. Frontier mail made its first trip from Bombay VT to Peshawar. On GIPR lines between Bombay VT and Byculla, the country's first automatic color-light signals were erected. Stations were opened at Kanpur Central and Lucknow. |
| 1930 | Electricity is introduced on the Kalyan-Pune segment. The Grand Trunk Express route has been modified from Delhi to Madras. Hyderabad Godavary Valley Rly. united with the Nizam's State Rly. |
1951–1983: Zonal Re-Organization and Further Developments
| 1951 | Regional zones were established on the railway. The Southern railway zone was formed The Central and Western Railway Zones were established. The West Bengal government agreed to Take over the Calcutta Tramways Company's administrative activities and operations. |
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| 1954 | Sleeping accommodations were added to 3rd class coaches. |
| 1955 | The South-Eastern Zone was divided from the Eastern Railway Zone. |
| 1956 | A "buffet-cum-cinema" vehicle is inaugurated on the Janata Exp between Kanpur and Jha Jha. Churchgate-Marine Lines was the first Route-Relay Interlocking in India (WR). |
| 1957 | An all-India numbering scheme for locomotives has been implemented. |
| 1961 | Varanasi's Diesel Loco Works (DLW) was established. |
| 1979 | The Main Line ELectrification Project was renamed the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE). |
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