Who would be the one who has not taken an exciting train journey, but do you know the history of trains in India? There was a time when a person had to travel for days to go from one city to another, at that time only bullock cart or horse cart was the only means.
Development of Train
In 1843, Lord Dalhousie came to India to explore the possibilities of running the railway and AP Cotton, civil engineer of Madras, had an important contribution in the operation of the railway.
The first train in India ran on 16 April 1853, between Thane and Mumbai. Which covered a distance of 33.8 kilometers in about 57 minutes.
In 1843, Lord Dalhousie came to India to explore the possibilities of running the railway and AP Cotton, civil engineer of Madras, had an important contribution in the operation of the railway.
The first train in India ran on 16 April 1853, between Thane and Mumbai. Which covered a distance of 33.8 kilometers in about 57 minutes.
The East India Company formed the Avadh-Ruhelkhand Railway in 1857 and the work of connecting rail in eastern India was started and Lucknow was made its focal point. After this, first the rail ran on narrow gauge, after that the meter gauge and broad gauge railway lines were laid. The introduction of the first train in India was the biggest achievement of the country.
The steam engine built by George Stephenson in 1814, which was powerful as well as capable of pulling objects heavier than itself. Through the steam engine, on 27 September 1825, with the help of steam engine, 38 train coaches were pulled in which 600 passengers were on board.
And in 1929 India’s first electric train Deccan Queen was run between Kalyan and Pune and in 1945 diesel engine was introduced for the first time. On March 1, 1969, the country’s first superfast train which ran between Delhi and Howrah on the broad gauge line. Which is known as Rajdhani Express.
The first Railway Budget was presented by John Mathai. John Mathai was the first Railway Minister of India. And then the government kept changing in India, as well as expansion and modernization of Indian Railways.
When India and Pakistan were partitioned after independent India, then on 14 August 1947, the rail network was also divided between the two countries. Indian Railways was nationalized in the year 1951, 4 years after independence and the Government of India completely acquired its authority over the Railways.
Expansion of Rail Network
Today, the network of rail network is spread all over the country in such a way that any state and any city of India is unaware of rail facility.
The Indian rail network was expanded between 1866 and 1872, connecting Calcutta with Delhi, Amritsar and Mumbai. Along with this, the work of connecting Mumbai with rail lines was also done with many cities including Cochin and Madras. The foundation of the National Rail Museum of India, in Delhi by the then President Shri V.V. The year 1971 was laid by Giri.
The total length of the Indian Railway line is 63 thousand 465 km. People can travel by train in all four directions from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh. Every day about 3 to 3.5 crore people of India travel by train. India is the second largest rail network in the world, it is spread in all four directions.
Salient Features of Indian Railways
The longest traveling train in India is Vivek Express which travels a distance of about 4 thousand 273 kms from Assam to Kanyakumari. Howrah – Amritsar Express is the train with maximum stoppages, this train has around 115 stoppages. The number of all the big and small railway stations in India is around 7500.
Start of Toilet in Train
Trains did not have toilets for about 50 years after the Indian Railways started, after which a passenger from West Bengal, Okhil Chandra Sen, wrote a letter to the Sahibganj Railway Division office in 1909 about his bad experience of traveling by passenger train. Complained by writing a letter.
After this, the Railways heard its complaint and then during the British rule, the toilet facility was started in the train. That letter of Okhil Chandra Sen is still present in the Indian Rail Museum.
Computerized Reservation of Railway Started
In July 1986, Indian Railways started computerized reservation in New Delhi. The Ministry of Railways had established institutions like ICRS and CRIS with the aim of making every information related to Indian Railways available online. On August 3, 2002, for the first time, the facility of online ticket booking through internet was started while sitting at home.
And then the government kept changing in India, as well as expansion and modernization of Indian Railways.
Interesting Facts
- The first metro train was started in Kolkata in 1984.
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is the first railway station in India.
- Samjhauta and Thar Express are trains running between India and Pakistan.
- More than 12 lakh tickets are booked in 1 minute on the Indian Railways website IRCTC.
- Indian Railways is providing its services in India for more than 168 years.
- Gorakhpur railway station has the longest platform in India.
- India’s first passenger train was run between Howrah to Hooghly on 15 August 1854.
- Gatimaan Express is the fastest train in India and the slowest train is Metupalayam – Ooty Nilgiris Passenger train.
- The longest rail tunnel of the country is in Pir Panjal of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Two persons named Jagannath Shankarseth and Jamshedji Jijibhai laid the first railway track in India.