https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Great_Indian_Peninsula_RailwayGreat Indian Peninsula Railway - Revision history2026-07-31T19:47:19ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Great_Indian_Peninsula_Railway&diff=338551&oldid=prev73.83.18.20 at 18:04, 27 May 20222022-05-27T18:04:47Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Railway company in British India (1849–1951)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}<br />
{{Infobox rail<br />
|name = Great Indian Peninsula Railway<br />
|logo = Great Indian Peninsula Railway.jpg<br />
|logo_size = 240px<br />
|type = <br />
|start_year = 1 August 1849<br />
|headquarters = Bombay, [[British Raj|British India]]<br />
|gauge = 5'3" or 1676 mm<br />
|locale = [[British India]]<br />
|end_year = 5 November 1951<br />
}}<br />
[[File:Great Indian Peninsula Railway 1870.png|thumb|Extent of Great Indian Peninsula Railway network in 1870]]<br />
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The '''Great Indian Peninsula Railway''' ([[reporting mark]] '''GIPR''') was a predecessor of the [[Central Railway (India)|Central Railway]] (and by extension, the current state-owned [[Indian Railways]]), whose headquarters was at the [[Bori Bunder railway station|Boree Bunder]] in [[Mumbai]] (later, the Victoria Terminus and presently the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus]]). The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company was incorporated on 1 August 1849 by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c.83) of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. It had a share capital of 50,000 pounds. On 21 August 1847 it entered into a formal contract with the [[British East India Company|East India Company]] for the construction and operation of a railway line, 56&nbsp;km long, to form part of a trunk line connecting [[Bombay]] with [[Khandesh]] and [[Berar Province|Berar]] and generally with the other presidencies of India.<ref>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.15</ref> The Court of Directors of the East India Company appointed [[James John Berkeley]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862|year=1863|publisher=D. Appleton & Company|location=New York|page=690|url=https://archive.org/stream/1862appletonsan02newyuoft#page/n697/mode/1up}}</ref> as Chief Resident Engineer and Charles Buchanan Ker and Robert Wilfred Graham as his assistants.<ref name=h1>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/04/18/stories/2002041800430100.htm|title=The great Indian Railway bazaar|author=Khan, Shaheed|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=18 April 2002|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080716010813/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/04/18/stories/2002041800430100.htm|archive-date=16 July 2008|url-status=usurped}}</ref> It was India's first passenger railway, the original 21 miles (33.8&nbsp;km) section opening in 1853, between Bombay (Mumbai) and Tanna (Thane). On 1 July 1925 its management was taken over by the Government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,261|title=About Indian Railways-Evolution|publisher=Ministry of Railways website}}</ref> On 5 November 1951 it was incorporated into the Central Railway.<br />
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==Incorporation in London==<br />
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Incorporated as a company in 1849, with its head office in London, the Great Indian Peninsula railway was initially proposed for a length of {{convert|1300|mi|abbr=on}}, to connect Bombay with the interior of the Indian peninsula and to the major port of Madras ([[Chennai]]) on the east coast. It was originally meant to connect the towns of Poona ([[Pune]]), Nassuek ([[Nashik]]), Aurungabad ([[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]]), Ahmednuggur ([[Ahmednagar]]), Sholapoor ([[Solapur]]), [[Nagpur]], [[Akola]] (West Berar), Oomrawutty ([[Amravati]]), and [[Hyderabad]]. It was meant for the purpose of increasing the export of cotton, silk, opium, sugar and spices.<ref>{{cite book|title=Company registration − 1845|date=1846|publisher=Grace's Guide|location=London |url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Great_Indian_Peninsula_Railway:_1845_Company_Registration |access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref><br />
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The management committee consisted of 25 British men, including officials of the [[East India Company]] and banks in London, most of whom resided in Britain and some who had resided in India. The original 25 person board consisted of people such as [[John Stuart-Wortley, 2nd Baron Wharncliffe|John Stuart-Wortley]] and [[William Hamilton (geologist)|William Hamilton]] (both MPs from Britain who became the company's chairman and deputy chairman), Frederick Ayrton (ex-East India Company), cavalrymen such as Major Clayton and Major-General Briggs, Bombay residents John Graham, Col. Dickenson, [[Jaganath Shunkerseth|Hon. Jugonnath Sunkersett]] and [[Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy|Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fire and Spice|last=Westrip|first=Joyce|publisher=Serif Books|year=2014|isbn=978-1909150287|location=London|pages=20}}</ref> bankers such as John Harvey (Commercial Bank of London) and S. Jervis (Director of the [[London and County Bank]], [[Lombard Street, London|Lombard Street]]), and directors of other railway companies such as Richard Paterson (Chairman of the [[Northern and Eastern Railway|Northern and Eastern Railway Company]]) and Melvil Wilson (Director of the Alliance Assurance Office).<ref>{{cite news|title=Incorporation of Great Indian peninsula Railway|work=The Evening Standard|date=19 November 1845}}</ref><br />
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==Railways around Bombay==<br />
On 16 April 1853 at 3:35 pm, the first passenger train of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway left Boree Bunder station in [[Bombay]] (present day [[Mumbai]]) for Tanna (present day [[Thane, India|Thane]]).<ref name="toi">{{cite news|title=A sepia ride, from Boree Bunder to Tannah|last=Costa|first=Roana Maria|date=17 April 2010|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|page=6|location=Mumbai}}</ref> The train took fifty-seven minutes to reach Tanna.<ref name=r1>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.17</ref> It covered a distance of 21 miles (33.8&nbsp;km). Three locomotives named ''Sultan'', ''Sindh'' and ''Sahib'' pulled the 14 carriages carrying 400 passengers on board.<ref name=h1/><br />
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{{multiple image<br />
| align = right<br />
| direction = vertical<br />
| header = Tanna railway viaducts<br />
| image1 = Tanna Village and Smaller Viaduct (12671597053).jpg<br />
| image2 = Tanna Railway Viaduct (9142699593).jpg<br />
| footer = The smaller railway viaduct (top) and the longer railway viaduct (bottom) near Tanna (present day Thane) in 1855.<br />
}}<br />
The portion of the line from Tanna to [[Kalyan, India|Callian]] (present day Kalyan) was opened on 1 May 1854. The construction of this portion was difficult as it involved two-line viaducts over the estuary (see picture on right) and two tunnels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irfca.org/docs/history/railway-times.html|title=Extracts from the Railway Times|date=1854|publisher=Railway Times|access-date=1 January 2019}}</ref><br />
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On 12 May 1856 the line was extended to [[Khopoli|Campoolie]] (present day Khopoli) via Padusdhurree (present day Palasdhari) and on 14 June 1858 [[Khandala]]-[[Poona]] (present day Pune) section was opened to traffic. The Padusdhurree-Khandala section involved the difficult crossing of the [[Bhor Ghat|Bhore Ghat]] (present day Bhor Ghat) and it took another five years for completion. During this period, the 21&nbsp;km gap was covered by [[palanquin]], [[pony]] or cart through the village of Campoolie.<br />
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The [[Kasara|Kassarah]] (present day Kasara) line was opened on 1 January 1861 and the steep [[Thal Ghat|Thull ghat]] (present day Thal Ghat) section up to [[Igatpuri|Egutpoora]] (present day Igatpuri) was opened on 1 January 1865 and thus completed the crossing of the [[Sahyadri]].<ref name="r1"/><br />
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==Bombay to Madras==<br />
Beyond [[Kalyan|Callian]], the south-east main line proceeded over [[Bhor Ghat]] to Poona, [[Sholapur|Sholapore]] (present day Solapur) and [[Raichur|Raichore]] (present day Raichur), where it joined the [[Madras Railway]]. By 1868, route kilometerage was 888&nbsp;km and by 1870, route kilometerage was 2,388.<ref name=r2>Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.17-8</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Railway Intelligence |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OmTXAAAAMAAJ&q=berar&pg=PA194 |page=202 |volume=11 |year=1861 |publisher=The Railway Department, Stock Exchange, London |author=Mihill Slaughter}}</ref><br />
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==Bombay to Calcutta==<br />
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2022}}<br />
Beyond Callian, the north-east main line proceeded over the Thull ghat to [[Bhusawal railway station|Bhosawal]] (present day Bhusawal). From Bhosawal, there was a bifurcation. One passed through great cotton district of [[Amravati|Oomravuttee]] (present day Amravati) and was extended up to [[Nagpur railway station|Nagpore]] (present day Nagpur) and then to Raj-nandgaon in [[Durg|Drug district]] (Present day Durg). The other was extended up to [[Jabalpur|Jubbulpore]] (present day Jabalpur) to connect with the Allahabad-Jubbulpore branch line of the [[East Indian Railway]] which had been opened in June 1867. Hence it became possible to travel directly from [[Bombay]] to [[Calcutta]]. The [[Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line]] was officially opened on 7 March 1870 and it was part of the inspiration for French writer [[Jules Verne]]'s book ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days]]''. Although, in the novel it is erroneously claimed that the line passes through [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]], which is, again erroneously claimed as the capital of the Emperor [[Aurangzeb|Aurangzeb Alamgeer]].{{cn|date=April 2022}} At that time period, line had not reached Aurangabad but rather moved northward after reaching [[Bhusawal]] towards [[Jabalpur]]. At the opening ceremony, the Viceroy [[Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo|Lord Mayo]] concluded that ''“it was thought desirable that, if possible, at the earliest possible moment, the whole country should be covered with a network of lines in a uniform system”.''{{cn|date=April 2022}}<br />
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== Rolling stock ==<br />
By the end of 1874 the company owned 345 steam locomotives, 1309 coaches and 7924 goods wagons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,6,1191,1193,1216,1241|title=Central Railway History|access-date=27 April 2022| language=en}}</ref> In 1906 a [[steam railcar]] from [[Kerr, Stuart and Company]] was purchased.<ref> New Locomotives for the Great Indian Peninsula Ry., [https://archive.org/details/locomotiverailwa1219unse/page/114/mode/1up The Locomotive Magazine], Vol. XII, No. 125 (Jul. 14, 1906); pages 114. Includes photo.</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[List of railway companies in India]]<br />
* [[Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway]]<br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{PM20|FID=co/073012|TEXT=Clippings about|NAME=}}<br />
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{{Commons category|Great Indian Peninsula Railway}}<br />
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{{Railways in Western India}}<br />
{{Railways in Central India}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Indian Peninsula Railway}}<br />
[[Category:Transport in Mumbai]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Thane]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Pune]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Kalyan-Dombivli]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Solapur]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Bhusawal]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Durg]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Nagpur]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Jabalpur]]<br />
[[Category:Transport in Amravati]]<br />
[[Category:Defunct railway companies of India]]<br />
[[Category:1849 establishments in British India]]<br />
[[Category:1951 disestablishments in India]]<br />
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1849]]<br />
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1951]]<br />
[[Category:1951 mergers and acquisitions]]<br />
[[Category:Indian companies established in 1849]]</div>73.83.18.20