Indian Railways: History and Extension of Rail in the Country

Presently, the most convenient and affordable means of land transport is rail transport. The Indian Railways has a history of more than 165 years. It has gracefully extended its connection throughout India, from every city to every village. People can travel more easily and conveniently. Railways have not only extended as trains but also as metros from the underground to the viaducts. The latest Vande Bharat Express holds the record for the fastest train in India with a maximum speed of 180kmph.

Table of Contents

History of Indian Railways

Indian Railways is one of the largest railway systems under a single management system. It was introduced in India by the Britishers. The idea of introducing railways in India was initiated in 1832. Here is how it all went.

1853 to 1900

The history of Indian Railways started on 16th April 1853 when the first passenger train took a journey of 34 km from Bori Bandar(Bombay) to Thane. This train had 13 carriages and 400 passengers travelled in it. It had three locomotives in it and was built by the collaboration of East India Company and Great Indian Peninsular Railways.

16th April – First Train From Mumbai To Thane. Image Credit: memumbai

After the success of this railway system, it was extended to the east of India in 1854. Then in 1856 railways were introduced to the south. In 1864 the Calcutta to Delhi line started operating connecting the two most important cities of India. By the end of 1869, the rail network had spread up to 6000 miles in India.

Initially, it was a job for private companies to develop railways because the British government announced a 5% interest in every company involved with railway development. Due to its slow process and costly expenses, it was hard for private companies to handle it. Later on, the government took over in 1869 to develop it as a state enterprise. But in 1880, both state and private enterprises took it under control due to very slow developments.

In the initial 50 years, Indian Railways suffered continued losses. Every investment made for railways was by the Britishers. Indian political and economic interests were not considered in the development of railways. It was established to meet the needs of the British Empire and transport raw materials from the interior of India to the export ports.

1900 to 1947

After a lot of financial investment and construction Indian railways finally started making profits from the year 1901. In 1924 the railway budget was separated from the general budget and in 1925 it received its first dividend. In the same year, electric locomotives were also introduced in India. The electric locomotive traveled from Mumbai to Kurla.

The Great Economic Depression of 1929 and the 2nd World War reduced the pace of development of the rail. Though railways were established in favor of British interests, they helped the development of industries in India and also Indian Nationalism.

1948 to 1980

In 1947, after the partition of the country, the rail network was divided into 2 parts. Of these 2 parts, one of them was in Pakistan which was about 40 percent of the rail network established by Britishers. In 1947, about 42 rail systems were still present in India. Between 1949 and 1950, the Indian Railways acquired the railway and it was nationalized. This is how it started to become one of the largest rail networks in the world.

in 1951, railways started to get recognized in the zones of India. On 14 April 1951, the Southern Railway zone was created, and gradually the Central Zone and Western Zone were created in the same year. Later in 1952, the northern railways, eastern railways, and northeastern railway zones were also established.

In 1979, the Central Organization for Railway Electrification was established. This leads to the development of electrified railway lines.

India’s first electric train from Mumbai to Kurla. Image Credit: indiatimes

1981 to 2000

In 1980, Indian Railways wholly phased out steamed locomotives and worked very aggressively towards electrification. Between 1980 to 1990 almost 4000km of tracks were electrified. During this phase, the first Indian Metro was established in Calcutta, in 1984.

In this phase the ‘Computer Revolution’ took place. In 1986, the first computerized ticketing and reservation started in New Delhi. Gradually, it was introduced in Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta and this system was extended to the whole country in 1995.

Later on the Telephone based Phone Inquiry (IVRS) was introduced in December 1994. The railway along with the foundational infrastructure of national development is also a major enterprise of employment generation.

The Modern Era of Indian Railways- 21st Century.

In 2002, Indian Railways started online ticket booking and reservations through the IRCTC system. Later on in the same year five other railway zones are created. These were East Coast, Southern Western Railway, South East Central Railway, North Central Railway, and West Central Railway.

The development of metro trains was also initialized in the major cities of India. By 2014, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Bangalore had a metro route each. This was a time of economic development in India, which is why railways were also an important unit for development. In 1947, the rail lines were 53,996 km long and in 2009 it became 64,099 km long. After 62 years of Independence India only had an increase of 10,000 km. Furthermore, to tackle this problem Vision 2020 came into force and it gave a proposal of 25,000 km of new lines by the year 2020.

Vision 2020 gave a view of the expansion of Indian Railways. It also proposed to increase the speed of passenger trains up to 200km and freight trains to 100km more. This phase also initiated digitalization and today around 6000 stations have free wi-fi networks. In 2016, India’s first semi-high-speed train Gatiman Express was also inaugurated. It covered a distance of 403 km in 265 minutes with a speed of 91kmph.

Eastern India’s First Vande Bharat Train. Image Credit: swarajya

The work of making India’s first bullet train was also initiated, this train is to run from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. In 2019, India also launched its first Indigenous engineless semi-high-speed train, Vande Bharat Express, which is currently the fastest train in India.

Conclusion

In the rail budget of 2020, a 30-year plan was proposed in which 30 percent of railway stations will be privatized by 2031 and all freight trains will be privatized. It implies that the railway is not only a public enterprise but also a business entity. Railways help India in development as well as serving the public every day.

Today Indian Railways has a route length network of 68,584 km and 13,523 passenger trains. The total number of freight trains in India is 9,146. It keeps developing and improving year by year.