It is interesting to know that recommendation for construction of railways in India was presented in 1844 to East India Company by a London company ahead by R.M.Stephenson who later became Agent & M.D. of East Indian Railway. Both East Indian Railway and Great Indian Peninsual railway company were incorporated in England for networking Bombay-Calcutta Presidencies with railway lines. It would not be out of place to recount some of the difficulties the Court of Directors of East India Company enumerated in a dispatch to the Governor General of India on 7^th May, 1845, on laying of railway line:

• Periodical rains and inundations.

• The continued action of violent winds and influence of a vertical sun.

• The ravages of insects and vermin upon timber and earthwork.

• The destructive effects of the spontaneous vegetation of underwood upon earth and brick-work.

• The unenclosed and unprotected tracts of the country through which railroads would pass.

• The difficulty and expense of securing the service of competent and trustworthy engineers.

Signal contribution of bringing the railways to India in its present form of network is attributed to Lord Dalhousie, Governor General of India from 1848-1856.

Lord Dalhousie laid the justification for an expansive railway network in India in his historic minute of 20^th April, 1853 thus: A single glance cast upon the map, recalling to mind the vast extent of the Empire we hold-the various classes and interests it involved, the wide distances which separate the several points-which by hostile attack may at any time be captured, the perpetual risk of the hostility appearing in quarters where it is least expected-the expenditure of time, of treasure and of life are involved.

A single glance upon these things will suffice to show how immeasurable are the political advantages to be derived from a system of internal communication.

On 16^th April, 1853, the first railway ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. Fourteen railway carriages carrying 400 guests left Bori Bunder to a salute of 21 guins. The day was observed as a public holiday. The next day Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, second Baronet, reserved the whole train and traveled from Bombay to Thane and back along with some members of this family. Though the sun rises from the East, this time the West gave the shine!

The day broke on the eastern coast when the first passenger train steamed out of Howrah for Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles on August 15, 1854. three thousand applications were received from those who wanted to ride in the train. Only a few hundred could be accommodated. The train left Howrah at 8.30 am and reached Hooghly in 91 minutes. There were three first class, two second, three trucks for third class passengers and a brake van for guard. The first class fare was Rs.3/- and seven annas was charged for third class!

While India was celebrating the chug of the panting demon, the sea swallowed the ship HMS Goodwin bringing the first models of railway carriages ar Sandheads. The ship bringing the first locos was misdirected to Australia. John Hodgson, the EIR Locomotive Chief Engineer, finding that the carriage models had been lost, set about building carriages locally. This was done by two Calcutta coach building firms, Ms Steward and Company and Seton and Company. The lost locomotives reached Calcutta via Australia by HMS Deckagree in 1854. the menacing Hooghly posed a challenge to the enterprising engineers and a pontoon floating bridge was built by Sir Bradford Leslie.

In the North on March 3, 1859, 119 miles between Allahabad and Kanpur and, three years later, the Amritsar Attari section between Amritsar and Lahore was opened to traffic.

In the North-East, the first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantt was opened to traffic on 19^th October 1875. in extreme East, Dibrugarh town to Dinjan was opened on 15^th August 1882. Bengal and North-West Railway followed by placing. Darbhanga-Jhanjarpur on the railway map on 1^st February 1833.

By 1880, there were 9,000 miles of railway track!

These lines were laid by a Herculean effort of several railway companies which mushroomed over India-the Madras Railway, the South Indian Railway, the Sind Punjab and Delhi Guaranteed Railway company, Calcutta and South Eastern Railway, East Bengal Railway, Indian Midland Railway, Southern Mahratta Railway and Bengal Nagpur Railway…

Celebrated Railway Buildings

Victoria Terminus: This building, decorated painstakingly, derived its name from Queen Victoria as it was opened on Jubilee day in 1887.

The site on which VT is located is associated with the origin of Bombay as a city. The name of Bombay, now Mumbai, is attributed to Goddess Mumba Devi. The earliest temple dedicated to her stood at the very place where VT was erected in 1887. The original shrine was demolished by Mubarak Shah, better known as Qutab-ud-din and was re-erected in 1317. It was again demolished in 1760 by the Portuguese soldiers at the site of the tank, hence its name Gibbet Pond.

Designed by famous architect Mr.F.W.Stevens, VT is a celebrated structure in Gothic-Saracenic style. A series of well proportioned and delicately ornamented arches, give it the look of a grand cathedral. This effects is further heightened by a central dome set off by a number of smaller domes and conical towers reminiscent of Westminister Abbey. The lancet windows in the dome and towers are of ornate stained glass, and like the rest made of solid cut-stone masonry, supervised by delicate artistic work, designed in plaster. The apex of the dome is crowned by a colossal figure in stone symbolizing progress. This figure is 16 feet 6 inches in height. On the principal gables are displayed sculptural panels representing, Engineering, Agriculture, Commerce, Science, Trade. The arches and windows are Venetian in style and overlook at 1,500 ft façade. The double columns which support the arches of the verandahs and the colonnades are of marble. Italian granite is freely used for interior decoration.

If you fly over Mumbai city in the wee hours of the morning, when the sky is overcast with moving clouds, the sight of a grand structure towering over Mumbai, sometimes visible, sometimes disappearing in clouds, moves you like nothing else.

Howrah: The land of peace, plenty and prosperity saw Howrah station constructed in 1906 or red brick-an imposing structure. The building has a large concourse opening into various platforms. The site originally belonged to a missionary orphanage run by Portuguese Dominicans, by the side of which was located a small church. During the early 19^th century the orphanage was shifted to Calcutta, as a result of an epidemic. However, the character of the land to be of use to the society at large remained unchanged.

Sealdah: The old Sealdah station was built in Italian style with touches of oriental architecture. The upper part is of particular architectural interest. It is covered by Khoa roofing. Khoa is composed solely of broken bricks of varying coarseness mixed with Sylhet lime deposited in several layers, the finest layers placed uppermost. With the aid of plenty of water the entire mass is beaten into shape by wooden mallets. Perhaps, the architects employed the maxim beaten to shape while defining their architectural interests!

Lucknow & Kanpur: There is something very indigenous about Lucknow/1926 & Kanpur/ 1928. The several domes and towers are of Indo-Saracen design and harmonize with the history of Oudh. The buildings in red brick have a long façade of wide verandahs adorned with Mughal arches. You can be mistaken on your first visit and believe them to be palaces of the Nawab. But the infested mass and the churning of wheels within clears your misconceptions on closer approach.

Consolidation

The reins of the metal horse were held by a Director situated in England who sat at the Boards of all guaranteed railway companies. Minor matters were pushed overseas making it cumbersome to operate. I an tempted to quote a reference from the M.D. of Bengal and North Western Railway to the secretary of State-Sir with reference to India office letter no. P.W.120 of 23^rd February 1892, I am directed by my Board to apply for the sanction of the Secretary of State-in-Council of India to an increase in the salary of the office boy from Rs.10 to Rs.15 per week, with effect from the 28^th April last.!

The situation was not to prolong for long. Sir Thomas Robertson who was appointed by His Majesty as Special Commissioner to report on future management of railways submitted his report in 1903. as a result of his efforts The Railway Board assumed office in 1905.

The beginning of the 20^th century saw the Government purchasing the Railway companies. Slowly major lines were taken over and the State had by 1994 come to be the owner of all trunk lines. By April, 1950 the princely state railways were brought under the flag of Indian Railways. Their brass crests and monograms found their place in the national Rail Museum at New Delhi!

The New Face

The Government of India realized that the development of the country’s economy and of hitherto virgin regions, hinged on expansion of the network. Ambitious plans were drawn and new areas were linked by metal tracks. Steam, though full of nostalgia was slow in delivering the goods. Dieselisation overtook the steam traction, and faster trains, longer goods hauls became the order of the day. Electrification too was electrifying. It began side by side as early as 1925, when the first electric train ran over a distance of 16 km from Victoria Terminus to Kurala. Now major routes have been electrified to give the much needed thrust to the system.

New designs are being churned out by Research, Design and Standards Organisation constituted in 1957 at Lucknow. Improvements in signaling systems, track design and layout, coach interiors for better riding comfort and capacity, etc are being planned by engineers. The workshops of the railways too have been given new equipment to create sophisticated coaches at ICF, Perambur and RCF, Kapurthala, and diesel engine parts at DCW/Patiala. Locomotives are being made at Chitranjan and Varanasi.

The Calcutta Metro is a fine example of highly complex engineering techniques being adopted to lay an underground railway in the densely built-up areas of Calcutta city. It is a treat to be seen. The Calcuttans keep it so clean and tidy that not a paper is thrown around! It only proves the belief that a man grows worthy of his superior possessions.

Now, in order to further improve upon its services the Indian Railways have embarked upon a scheme of uni-guage which is immensely ambitious. The railways have planned and are to broad gauge. The inconvenience of changing to a different gauge en route to a destination will no longer be felt.

Impressive looking locomotives haul the 21^st century harbingers- the Rajdhanis and Shatabdis at speeds of 145 kmph with good riding comfort. The network of lines has grown to about 62,000 kilometers. But, the variety of Indian Railways is infinite. You still have the romantic toy trains on narrow gauge hill sections, meter gauge beauties on other and broad gauge bonanzas as you visit places of tourist interest courtesy Indian Railways! They are an acknowledgement of the Railways that tourism as an industry has to be promoted and that India is full of unsurpassed beauty.

The best of burden has taken the wings of fancy of an Indian citizen. The sounds of the romping wheels move more than just hearts!