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Lord Dalhousie and the introduction of Railways in India
Imperialist, expansionist, the epitome of British rule in India. These are perhaps the most apt adjectives for Lord Dalhousie, appointed Governor General of India in 1848. In his eight years at the helm, James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, better known as Lord Dalhousie, was all that and more. He expanded Britain’s empire in India by fair means and foul and held total sway over the vast realm. He was known for his overbearing self-confidence, centralising activity and reckless annexations.
However, history has also attributed far-reaching reforms to Dalhousie. Among his major reforms were those in the fields of education, public works, post and telegraph. Above all, he will always be remembered for introducing the railways in India. It was during his tenure as Governor General that on April 16, 1853, at 3.35pm, the first train in India left Bombay for Thane. Trains were started the next year in the Calcutta area and work began on the Madras-Arcot line in the South. Lord Dalhousie's famous Railway Minute of April 20, 1853 laid down the policy that private enterprise would be allowed to build railways in India but that their operation would be closely supervised by the government. He was also responsible for introducing the 5' 6" gauge for railways in India and the initial lines all used this gauge. Lord Dalhousie favoured 6' and 5'-6' was the compromise agreed to. It was only after the departure of Lord Dalhousie that other gauges were also introduced in the country.
— J L Singh, retired railway official
Did you know?
* Dapoorie viaduct is India’s first railway bridge
* The Naini bridge on river Yamuna near Allahabad was opened for traffic on August 15, 1865
* The only steel arch railway bridge in India is the Reond bridge near Kangra
* The longest railway bridge at the time of Independence, with a total length of 10,052 feet, was Upper Sone bridge. It was opened by Lord Elgin in 1863
* The Rajghat Narora bridge is the oldest bridge on the Ganga
* The first bridge on the Brahmapurta is Saraighat bridge
* Northern Railway has the largest number of bridges
— Vikas Singh, rail enthusiast
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The press report is erroneous in the sense that the Nilgiri Mountain Railway had already completed 100 yrs on June 15, 1999. The Centenary of NMR was celebrated at Coonoor attended by the Union Minister for Railways Nitish Kumar. I too was present on the occasion, and have documented it in my book: NMR- From Lifeline to Oblivion, which was released at Coonoor on Oct. 18, 2008. The railway was opened for traffic on 15 June 1899 from Mettupalayam and Coonoor, and extended to Ooty several years later in Oct. 1908.So, what is being celebrated now is merely the centenary of the extension of the railway between Coonoor to Ooty. It is not the celebration of 100 yrs of NMR now, as the railway is already 110yrs old!