Great Indian Peninsula Railway

Great Indian Peninsula Railway

Industry	Railways
Founded	1 August 1849
Defunct	5 November 1951
Headquarters	Bombay, British India
Area served	British India
Services	Rail transport

Extent of Great Indian Peninsula Railway network in 1870

The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was a predecessor of the Central Railway, whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminus and presently the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus). The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was incorporated on August 1, 1849 by an act of the British Parliament. It had a share capital of 50,000 pounds. On August 17, 1849 it entered into a formal contract with the East India Company for the construction and operation of an experimental line, 56 km long, to form part of a trunk line connecting Bombay with Khandesh and Berar and generally with the other presidencies of India.^[1] The Court of Directors of the East India Company appointed James John Berkeley^[2] as Chief Resident Engineer and C. B. Kar and R. W. Graham as his assistants.^[3] It was India's ever first railway, the original 21 mile (33.8 km) section opening in 1853, between Bombay (Mumbai) and Tannah (Thane). On July 1, 1925 its management was taken over by the Government.^[4] On November 5, 1951 it was incorporated into the Central Railway.

Incorporation in London (1845)

Incorporated as a company in 1845, with its head office in London, the Great Indian Peninsula railway was initially proposed for a length of 1300 miles, to connect Bombay with the interior of the Indian peninsula and to a major port on the east coast. It was meant for the purpose of increasing the export of cotton, silk, opium, sugar and spices.^[5] 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 and W.J Hamilton (both M.P.s 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 and Col. Dickenson, bankers such as John Harvey (Commercial Bank of London) and S. Jervis (Director of the London and County Bank, Lombard Street), and Directors of other railway companies such as Richard Paterson (Chairman of the Northern and Eastern Railway Company) and Melvil Wilson (Director of the Alliance Assurance Office).^[6]

It was originally meant to connect the towns of Poonah (Pune), Nassuek (Nashik), Aurungabad (Aurangabad), Ahmednuggur (Ahmednagar), Sholapoor (Solapur), Nagpur, Oomrawutty (probably Amravati), and Hyderabad.

Bombay to Tannah

A passenger train crossing the Dapoorie Viaduct near Pune, 1858

On April 16, 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 Tannah (present day Thane)^[7] The train took fifty-seven minutes to reach Tannah.^[8] It covered a distance of 21 miles (33.8 km). Three locomotives named Sultan, Sindh and Sahib pulled the 14 carriages carrying 400 passengers on board.^[3] The railway bridge over Thane creek, first in India, was completed in 1854.

The Sahyadri crossed

The portion of the line from Tannah to Callian (present day Kalyan) was opened on May 1, 1854. the construction of this portion was difficult as it involved a two-line viaduct over the estuary and two tunnels. On May 12, 1856 the line was extended to Campoolie (present day Khopoli) via Padusdhurree (present day Palasdhari) and on June 14, 1858 Khandala-Poonah (present day Pune) section was opened to traffic. The Padusdhurree-Khandala section involved the difficult crossing of the Bhore Ghat (present day Bhor Ghat) and it took another five years for completion. During this period, the 21 km gap was covered by palanquin, pony or cart through the village of Campoolie. The Kassarah (present day Kasara) line was opened on January 1, 1861 and the steep Thull ghat (present day Thal Ghat) section up to Egutpoora (present day Igatpuri) was opened on January 1, 1865 and thus completed the crossing of the Sahyadri.^[8]

Further extensions

The south-east main line proceeded over Bhor Ghat to Poonah, Sholapore (present day Solapur) and Raichore (present day Raichur), where it joined the Madras Railway. By 1868, route kilometerage was 888 km and by 1870, route kilometerage was 2,388.^[9][10]

Bombay to Calcutta

Beyond Callian, the north-east main line proceeded over the Thull ghat to Bhosawal (present day Bhusawal) near Nusseerabad. From Bhosawal, there was a bifurcation. One passed through great cotton district of Oomravuttee (present day Amravati) and was extended up to Nagpore (present day Nagpur). The other was extended up to 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. At the opening ceremony, the Viceroy 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”. ^[11]

Notes

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Railways in Western India
National network / trunk lines	New Delhi–Mumbai main line Konkan Railway Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line Mumbai–Chennai line Jaipur–Ahmedabad line Ahmedabad–Mumbai Main Line
Branch lines / sections	Mathura–Vadodara Section Ahmedabad–Viramgam section Bhusawal–Kalyan section Gandhidham–Ahmedabad main line Gandhidham–Bhuj section Gandhidham–Kandla Port section Gandhidham–Palanpur section Gandhidham–Samakhiali section Jodhpur–Bathinda line Maliya Miyana–Wankaner section Marwar Junction–Munabao line Mumbai Dadar–Solapur section Nagpur–Bhusawal section Samakhiali–Maliya Miyana section Solapur–Guntakal section Surendranagar–Bhavnagar line Viramgam–Mahesana section Viramgam–Maliya Miyana section Viramgam–Okha line Viramgam–Surendra Nagar section Wankaner–Surendra Nagar section
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Metro rail	Mumbai Metro Navi Mumbai Metro Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad Greater Nasik Metro Surat Metro Pune Metro Nagpur Metro
Monorail	Ahmedabad Monorail Line 1 (Mumbai Monorail) Mumbai Monorail Navi Mumbai Monorail Pune Monorail
Defunct lines revived / under revival	Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway Barsi Light Railway
Defunct lines	Salsette-Trombay Railway Bhavnagar Tramway Bhavnagar State Railway Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway West of India Portuguese Railway Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Cutch State Railway
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Railway divisions	Bhusawal Railway Division Pune Railway Division
Railway companies	Central Railway Western Railway West Central Railway Konkan Railway Corporation Great Indian Peninsula Railway Saurashtra Railway Mumbai Port Trust Railway
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) Suburban rail in India Mumbai Suburban Railway Pune Suburban Railway Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor Bhor Ghat
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Railways in Central India
National network / trunk lines	Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line New Delhi–Chennai main line
Branch lines /sections	Bina–Katni rail route Katni–Bilaspur line Satpura narrow gauge lines Tatanagar–Bilaspur section Bilaspur–Nagpur section Nagpur–Bhusawal section Allahabad–Jabalpur section Jabalpur–Bhusaval section Agra–Bhopal section Bhopal–Nagpur section Nagpur–Hyderabad line Narkhed–Amravati Railway
Monorail	Indore Monorail
Defunct lines revived/under revival	Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway
Defunct lines	Rajputana–Malwa Railway
Named trains	Ahilya Nagari Express Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Amarkantak Express Avantika Express Azad Hind Express Bhopal Bharat Teerth Express Bhopal Jan Shatabdi Express Bhopal Janata Express Bhopal Rajya Rani Express Bhopal–Indore Intercity Express Bhopal–Indore Passenger Bhopal–Jabalpur Intercity Express Bhopal–Mumbai Express Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger Bhopal–Bilaspur Express Bhopal–Bina Passenger Bhopal–Gwalior Intercity Express Bhopal–Howrah Express Bhopal–Indore AC Double Decker Intercity Express Bhopal–Indore AC Double Decker Non-Stop Express Bhopal–Indore Passenger Bhopal–Jaipur Express Bhopal–Jodhpur Passenger Bhopal–Lucknow Express Bhopal–Lucknow–Pratapgarh Express Bhopal–Pratapgarh Express Bina – Katni 505 Passenger Coimbatore Express Chambal Express Chhattisgarh Express Chhindwara - Amritsar Chhattisgarh Express Chitrakoot Express Damoh–Kota Passenger Dayodaya Express Durgavati Express Gondwana Express Grand Trunk Express Gwalior–Chhindwara Express Hazrat Nizamuddin – Indore Express Hazrat Nizamuddin – Jabalpur Express Hazrat Nizamuddin–Bhopal Express Hazrat Nizamuddin–Gwalior Express Himsagar Express Indore–Jaipur Express via Ajmer Indore Express Indore–Bandra Express Indore–Rewa Express Indore Express Indore Tri Shatabdi Indore–Dehradun Express Indore–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express Indore–Maksi Passenger Indore – Nagda Passenger Indore–Nagpur Express Indore–Patna Express Indore – Rajendra Nagar Via. Faizabad Express Indore–Ujjain Passenger Indore–Ajmer Express Indore–Ajmer Link Express Indore–Amritsar Express Indore–Bandra Express Indore–Bhind Express Indore–Bhopal Non-Stop Express Indore Duronto Express Indore–Gwalior Intercity Express Indore–Jabalpur Express Indore–Jabalpur Intercity Express Indore–Jaipur Express Indore–Kota Intercity Express Indore–Pune Express Indore–Rewa Express Indore–Surat Express Indore–Udaipur City Express Indore–Yesvantpur Express Intercity Express – Agra Jabalpur–Indore Intercity Express Jabalpur–Ambikapur Express Jabalpur – Mumbai Central Garib Rath Special Express Jabalpur–Mumbai Garibrath Express Jabalpur–Amravati Express Jabalpur–Bhopal Express Via. Bina Jabalpur–Bhopal Intercity Express Jabalpur Habibganj Jan Shatabdi Express Jabalpur–Indore Express Jabalpur–Jammu Tawi Express Jabalpur–Nagpur Express Jabalpur–New Delhi Express Jabalpur–Rewa Intercity Express Jabalpur Somnath Express Jaipur Superfast Express Lashkar Express Lucknow Bhopal Garibrath Express Madhya Pradesh Sampark Kranti Mahakoshal Express Mahanadi Express Malwa Express Nagpur – Indore Tri Shatabdi Express Narmada Express New Delhi Habibganj Shatabdi Express Panchvalley Express Patalkot Express Rajendra Nagar Patna – Indore Express Ranthambore Express Rewa – Delhi Anand Vihar Express Rewanchal Express Sarguja Express Satpura Express Shaan-e-Bhopal Express Shaktipunj Express Shanti Express Shipra Express Shramik express Surat Bhagalpur Express Surat–Muzaffarpur Express Taj Express Tapti Ganga Express Thiruvananthapuram–Indore Express Udhna Varanasi Express Ujjaini Express Vindhyachal Express
Railway companies	Bengal Nagpur Railway Great Indian Peninsula Railway South East Central Railway Central Railway Western Railway West Central Railway
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) Datia rail accident Akola–Ratlam (metre gauge trains) Indore–Ajmer metre-gauge trains Rail transport in Madhya Pradesh Dalli-Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line
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