| 1844 |
15 Jul. The Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR)
formed. |
| 1852 |
18 Feb. The first locomotive seen shunting near Byculla
flats in Bombay. |
| 1853 |
16 Apr. The first train steams out from Bombay to
Thane, a distance of 34 kilometres. |
| 1854 |
15 Aug. The first passenger train operated from Howrah
(Calcutta) to Hooghly on the newly formed East India Railway. |
| 1854 |
The first railway workshop of the Great Indian Peninsular
Railway opened at Byculla, Bombay. |
| 1862 |
Jamalpur Railway Workshop opened in Bihar. |
| 1864 |
1 Aug. Calcutta and Delhi linked by rail. |
| 1869 |
1 Jul. Change in government policy. It was decreed
that private lines could be taken over by the state on certain terms after the completion of 25 years. |
 |
Metre gauge six vehicle armoured train built at Ajmer by the BBCIR. |
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1853 |
First locomotive 'Lord Falkland' |
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1862 |
Double decker coaches introduced on the GIP and the
EIR. |
| |
1863 |
Sone Bridge near Arrah commissioned. Becomes the most
notable bridge of the early years. |
Upper quadrant multiple aspect Semaphore signals. |
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|
 |
Lower quadrant Semaphore signals. |
|
| 1922 |
Route length of railways 59,600 kms. |
| 1925 |
First electric railway opened from Bombay VT to
Kurla, on the harbour branch line of the GIPR. Traction used was 1500 v DC, overhead |
| 1928-31 |
Large amounts spent on doubling and quadrupling tracks
to ease traffic, and bridges etc strengthened or rebuilt. |
| 1939 |
Route length of railways 65,850 kms. |
| 1939 |
World War Two breaks out. Again the railways put under great strain. |
| 1947 |
India gains independence. Creation of India and Pakistan. Route length 64,838 kms
before partition. |
| 1948 |
42 railway systems of various classes in existence |
| 1949 |
Assam rail link opened |
 |
A WP class broad gauge express passenger steam locomotive. |
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|
 |
Indian Railways metre gauge Class YP 4--6-2, the last steam express locomotive
to be built anywhere in the world. |
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1906 |
Howrah station in its present form inaugurated to become
the largest station in the country. |
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1920 |
Indian Railway Standards (IRS) introduced. It was also
at this time that the concept of superheating was first tried out in India. |
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1923 |
Over 500 different classes of locomotives in existence. |
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1936 |
Introduction of the first air-conditioned coach. |
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1946 |
WP class 4-6-2 broad gauge passenger steam locomotive
introduced. |
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1949 |
YP class 4-6-2 metre gauge passenger steam locomotive
introduced. |
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1949 |
Railway Board adopts standard all-steel design for
coaches. |
 |
2'0" MLR 739 0-6-0T used on the Neral - Matheran line. |
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