The development of Indian Railways had its roots in the 1800s, when India was a British colony. The British East India Company and later, the British colonial governments were credited with starting a railway system in India.
The British found it difficult to travel great distances between different places in India. They felt the need to connect those places with trains to speed up the journey as well as to make it more comfortable than travel by road in the great heat.
They also sought a more efficient means to transfer raw materials like cotton and wheat from the hinterlands of the country to the ports located in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, from where they would be transported to factories in England. Besides, the mid-1800s were a period of mutiny and struggle for independence in India, with uprisings in several parts of the country.
The British leaders wanted to transfer soldiers quickly to places of unrest. Railways seemed to be the ideal solution to all these problems. Work began on the development of railway systems in India in the early 1850s. The first commercial passenger train in India ran between Bombay and Thane (places in western India) on April 16, 1853.
The distance of 34 kilometers was covered in about 75 minutes. Soon, railway lines began to be laid in other parts of the country, mostly by private British companies, and the major regions in India were connected by rail.
By the beginning of the 1870s, the total track coverage in India was 4000 miles. In addition to commercial objectives, railways also began to play a social role in India. By the end of 1880, the total track coverage increased to 9000 miles. In 1880, the Darjeeling Steam Tramway started operating (the name was changed to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1881).
This railway track was considered one of the greatest engineering feats in the history of Indian Railways, crossing as it did, rough and dangerous mountain terrain at a steep gradient. In 1890, the British Government passed the Railways Act, to govern the construction and operation of railways in India. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were nearly 25,000 miles of railway track in the country.
The British found it difficult to travel great distances between different places in India. They felt the need to connect those places with trains to speed up the journey as well as to make it more comfortable than travel by road in the great heat.
They also sought a more efficient means to transfer raw materials like cotton and wheat from the hinterlands of the country to the ports located in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, from where they would be transported to factories in England. Besides, the mid-1800s were a period of mutiny and struggle for independence in India, with uprisings in several parts of the country.
The British leaders wanted to transfer soldiers quickly to places of unrest. Railways seemed to be the ideal solution to all these problems. Work began on the development of railway systems in India in the early 1850s. The first commercial passenger train in India ran between Bombay and Thane (places in western India) on April 16, 1853.
The distance of 34 kilometers was covered in about 75 minutes. Soon, railway lines began to be laid in other parts of the country, mostly by private British companies, and the major regions in India were connected by rail.
By the beginning of the 1870s, the total track coverage in India was 4000 miles. In addition to commercial objectives, railways also began to play a social role in India. By the end of 1880, the total track coverage increased to 9000 miles. In 1880, the Darjeeling Steam Tramway started operating (the name was changed to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1881).
This railway track was considered one of the greatest engineering feats in the history of Indian Railways, crossing as it did, rough and dangerous mountain terrain at a steep gradient. In 1890, the British Government passed the Railways Act, to govern the construction and operation of railways in India. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were nearly 25,000 miles of railway track in the country.