India’s Railway Day was first celebrated on 16 April 1853, but the real truth is that the first railway wheels were turned in India in 1837, and five years before that, in 1832, Madras mentioned the need for a railway system in India. Four years later, the Arthur Cotton Company laid the railway line from Red Hill to Chintadripet in Madras in 1836. The next year, i.e., in 1837, the first train ran in Madras. Its name was Red Hill. It was powered by a steam engine. This train was built by William Avery. The train was launched to carry granite from Red Hill to Chintadripet in Madras. Then, in 1845, Rajamumari Dauleswaram built the Godavari Bandh Nirman railway line to build a dam on the Godavari river, or on 22nd December 1851 while another line was opened for the purpose of transporting goods in connection with the construction of a canal at Roorkee.

Although the railway wheels turned in many parts of India, it was all for the transportation of goods and all for the sake of temporary needs. That is, these railway lines were started for some specific reason. Therefore, the day when a train with passengers ran from the then-Bori port of Bombay to Thane on 16 April 1853 is considered Rail Day in the history of India.

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So today, for all practical purposes, 16 April is Indian Railway Day. The distance from Bori Bandar to Thane is about 34 km. Exactly 171 years ago on this day, a passenger train carrying 400 passengers witnessed the railway history of India. The entire construction of the train line was done by The Great Peninsular Railway Company. Sahib, Sultan and Sindhu, with three locomotive engines and 14 coaches, ran the first passenger train in Indian railway history that day. The planning of Indian Railways in 1832, the first goods train in 1837, and passenger service sixteen years later in 1853 conclude this chapter. From the middle of the 19th century, various railway companies in England began to establish small railways in different parts of India and in the case of Bengal, the East Indian Railway company took this responsibility.

They started the first experimental passenger railway from Howrah to Hooghly on 15 August 1854. After that, regular passenger rail service was started from Howrah, not Hooghly, to Pandooha, and in February 1855, it was extended from Pandooha to Raniganj. The Delhi-to-Howrah Railway started in 1864, and the Lucknow-to-Kanpur Railway started in 1867. Thus, within a short period of time, railway systems like a spider’s web were launched across India by various companies. First, the East India Company or later, the British government encouraged various railway companies in England to set up railways.

Many railway lines, like narrow gauge, metre gauge, broad gauge, or standard gauge, were launched. They were launched all over India, with government protection along the way. 1,349 kilometres of railway lines were laid between 1854 and 1860 with huge investments. During that time, the railway tracks quickly spread to Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan or other Indian regions. After that, in just twenty years, i.e., by 1880, 25,495 kilometres of railways were opened in India. It was an unthinkable thing in those days. These railway lines were mainly developed to connect the three major ports of the country: Kolkata, Bombay and Madras. Domestic companies were also encouraged to invest in the Indian railway system. For example, a company called Baba Shivdayal Bedi and Sons built the Yamuna Bridge, which is still intact. Not only this, but the railway line from Delhi to distant Lahore was built by this company. In 1895, indigenous locomotives began to be manufactured in India. Even in 1896, engineers and locomotive engines were sent from India to build a railway line in Uganda, Africa. During World War I, the Indian railway system was particularly useful in transporting troops and food to the allied countries of the British government, but at the end of World War I, Indian railways were badly damaged.

The first acquisition in the history of railways was in 1900. The British government took over the GIPR network and managed the organisation, but in 1923, the government fully nationalised both the GIPR and EIR organisations. The government used to lease land to the companies for 99 years and took up to five percent rent from the companies in the early years of the railway. The agreement also stipulated that the government could buy the railways in the future.

The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, is said to be the father of Indian Railways. He was the Governor General of India from 1848 to 1856. Lord Dalhousie tried to integrate the railways to unite the major regions of India at that time.He is called the builder of modern India, as during his tenure not only passenger trains but also the electric telegraph system, uniform postal system, public works department, or Wood’s Education Commission to modernise the education system, were set up. Although Lord Dalhousie was the father of Indian Railways, it was started by Governor General Henry Hardinge in 1844. He was the first to allow private companies to set up railway lines and rail traffic in India. At the time of independence, forty-two companies were involved in the railway business in India. After India’s independence in 1951, the entire railway system was brought under one umbrella through nationalisation and took a consolidated form. At that time, the railway system was divided into six zones.

At present, about one crore eighty-five lakh passengers travel on Indian Railways every day, which is an exceptional phenomenon in the history of the world. Sealdah station alone handles 10 lakh passengers every day. Indian Railways is also the first in the world to hire another government agency. Which is an exceptional event in the world.

Indian railways also greatly influence the economy of India in terms of the transportation of goods. Indian Railways transports more than twenty lakh metric tonnes of goods every day. It makes Indian Railways a huge profit, which is a huge income for Indian Railways. Added to this are circular rail, metro rail, etc. Considering the overpopulation in Kolkata, the then chief minister of West Bengal, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, dreamt of this circular rail.

In 1984, the first circular train in India was launched in Kolkata, and in 1984, the first metro rail was launched in Kolkata. So, although Kolkata is not the first in history in terms of railway communication, Kolkata is the first city to introduce both circular and metro rail. On 24 October 1984, India’s first metro rail was launched in Kolkata, which was driven by two Bengalis, Tapan Kumar Nath and Sanjay Sheel.

Similarly, on 6 March, the metro rail under the Ganga river made Kolkata proud again. Although the first talk of metro rail in Kolkata was more than a hundred years ago, i.e., in 1919 and 1921, there was talk of running the first metro from Baghmari to Ghusuri under the river Ganga.

Now all manufacturing and modernization related to Indian Railways is done within the country. In 1985, diesel and locomotive engines were introduced instead of steam engines. Indian Railways became fully computerised by 1995. The year 2003 marked the centenary of Indian Railways.

The railway, which started running in 1853, holds a unique place in the world today. Keeping in mind the travel-hungry Indians or foreign tourists visiting India, the Ministry of Railways has launched a number of trains with high-quality hotel facilities in India under the auspices of the IRCTC. For example, the Maharaja Express, according to World Travel Awards statistics, has received the title of World’s Leading Luxury Train as the most luxurious train in the world from 2012 to 2017.

Also, trains like Palace on Wheels, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, The Golden Chariot, etc. have five-star hotel facilities. It is difficult to find a person who has not ridden Indian Railways. Indian Railways is number one in the world in terms of goods and passenger transportation. Indian Railways has the fourth-largest network in the world by distance and the second-largest network in the world under single management. The longest railway station platform in the world is Gorakhpur railway station in India. There are 7,300,25 railway stations in India. Howrah station is the largest station in India, with 23 platforms and 25 trucks. Currently, Indian Railways is divided into 18 zones and 70 divisions, connecting people, transporting goods and unifying India.

The writer is a freelance contributor.