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History of Railway construction

Compiled by RP Saxena

It is brief details of Indian Railway company working before independence & chronological history of construction of new line .There may be margin of error of a year or so but more or less it give clear picture of development of Railways in India ( It is under updating as a lot to be added)

Upto 1879 ,general policy was to construct BG line but subsequently MG was also adopted . in 1884,

A Select Committee in the House of Commons recommends continuing the policy of using MG for local and secondary lines only, and suggests that feeder lines to BG should also be BG .

In 1889-A Select Committee in the House of Commons recommends against laying any new MG lines outside areas where MG was dominant

Strategic considerations from the War Department force all new narrow-gauge lines to be laid to 2'6" gauge instead of 2' gauge from 1897 onwards. 2'6" was the narrow-gauge standard for all the imperial colonies.
In 1903,The Robertson Report recommends re-laying all BG and MG lines to standard gauge, but this report seems to have been completely ignored.
In 1907 ,The government purchases all major lines and re-leases them to private operators, with the exception of Rohilkhund & Kumaon Rly. and Bengal & North-Western Rly.
1914-1919 ,World War I places heavy strain on the railways. Railway production is diverted to meet the needs of British forces outside India. At the end of the war Indian railways are in a total state of dilapidation and disrepair. All services are downgraded or restricted.
1922 Retrenchment Committee under Lord Inchcape recommends drastic cuts in working expenses of Railways and other measures designed to produce a fixed annual profit for the state
1924-29 , Railways build more than 1,000 miles of tracks each year. General period of prosperity for the railways--generous provisions are made for passenger amenities (waiting rooms, etc.).
1942, Most of the remaining large railway companies are taken over by the state.

Chronological details of development of Railways in India

Great India Peninsula Railway

(ist aug 1849)

GIPR wass taken over by govt on 1^st july 1900 but company was permitted operations

Taken by govt in 1925

1852

1854

1855

1856

1862

1858

1886

1860

1861

1865

1866

1867

1870

1871

1884

1899

Bombay-Thane

Thane-Kalyan

Kalyan-Vasind

Kalyan-khopoli

Palsdhari-Khandala

Khandala-Pune

Pune-Miraj

Vasind-Asangaon

Igatpuri-Bhusawal

Asangaon-Kasra

Kasara-igatpuri

Bhusawal-Khandwa

Bhusawal-Badnera

Etarasi- Jubbalpore

Pune-Raichur

Delh-Mathura

Bhopal –Etarasi

Budhni-Barkhera

Bina-Baran

East India Railway (1845)

EIR was taken over by state in 1879 but company continued construction

Taken over by govt 1n 1925

1854

1855

1862-63

1859

1860

1864

1865

1867

1871

1906

1915

Howrah- Hoogly

Hoogly-Raniganj

Raniganj-Nainee via sahibganj

Allahabad-Kanpur

Kanpur-Etawah

Etawah-Delhi

Yamuna br allahabad

Allahabad-Jabbalpore

Raneeganj –kiul

Sitarampur-Gaya (GC)

Bardwan-Katwa

Oudh &Rohilkhand Railway

Amalgaed in EIR in 1925

1873

1874

1875

1885

1906

Benares-Lucknow

Lucknow-Moradabad

Hathras-Mathura cantt

Moradabad-Saharanpur

Kasganj-Kathgodam

Oudh &Tirhut railwas formed by amalgating Bengal and North-Western Railway, Rohilkund and Kumaon Rly., the Mashrak-Thane Extension Rly., the Lucknow-Bareilly Rly., and the Tirhut Rly.

1943

Bengal& north western 1881

1884

Nawabganj-Gonda-Bahraich

Rohilkhand-Kumayun

1884

Lucknow-Kathgodam

Doon railways

1900

Haridwar-Dehradoon

Powayan steam tram way

1890

1894

Shahjahanpur-Powayan

Shajahanpur-Mailani

Tirhut state railway

1874

Samastipur-Darbhanga

East coast Railway (govt)1890

Vijaynagram- waltair was taken over by Madras Railway 1n 1901 & Cuttack –vijaynagram including Khurda-puri by BNR in 1902

1893

1931

1893-1897

1893

1899

1913

1931

Jharsuga-Sambalpur

Raipur-Vizainagaram

Cuttack-khurdaroad-puri

Kakinada-Vishakhapatnam

Cuttack-Kharagpur

Sini-Kharagpur

Kharagpur-Kolaghat

Vijaynagram-salur

Raipur-Parvatipuram

Chhattisgarh state Railway

Merged with BNR in 1884

1881

1882

Rajnandgaon-Nagpur(MG)

Conveted n BG in1884 by BNR

Bengal Nagpur Railway 1888

Satpura Railway- subsidiary of BNR(1904-1911)

BNR

Takenover by state in 1944

1888

1889

1890

1919

1926

1891

1901

1902

1903

1905

1908

1913

1911

1913

1904

1907

1922

1924

1925

1927

1928-30

Rajnandgaon-Raipur

Raipur-Bilaspur

Chakradharpur-Purulia

Kandra-Gamharia

Rourkela-Birmitrapur

Nagpur –Asansole through

Bilaspur-Katni

KharagpurMidnapur

Acquired Cuttack-vijaynagram

Gondia-Nainpur NG

Naiipur-Jabalpur NG

Gondia-nagbhir

Nagbhir-Chandafort

Nagpur-Nagbhir NG

Nagpur-chindwara

Nainpur-Chindwara NG

Purulia-Ranchi

Adra-Gomoh

Tata-Badampahar

Khurswan-Dangoaposi

Dangoaposi-Gua

Barkakhana-Chandil

Anuppur-Chirimiri

BDR railway

1917

Bankura -Damodar

BombayBaroda&centralindia

Incorporated in 1855

Taken over by state in 1906

1855

1859

1861

1864

1865

1871

1872-79

1879

1882

1893

1896

1901

1907

Surat-Baroda

Grant road-

Churchgate-grant road

Bombay-Surat

Baroda-Ahmadabad

Ahmadabad-Viramgam

Viramgam-Wadhwan

Ahmadabad-palanpur(MG)