Great Indian Peninsular Railway
Encyclopedia
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was a predecessor of the Indian Central Railway, whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder
Bori Bunder
Bori Bunder was one of the areas along the Eastern shore line of Mumbai, India which was used as a storehouse for goods imported and exported from Mumbai. In the area's name, 'Bori' mean sack and 'Bandar' means Bhandaar or store; So Bori Bunder literally means a place where sacks are stored...

 in Bombay (later, the Victoria Terminus and presently the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...

). 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
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

 for the construction and operation of an experimental line, 56 km long, to form part of a trunk line connecting Bombay with Khandesh
Khandesh
Khandesh is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state.Khandesh was the terminal territorial part under the rule of Mughals. The Start of Deccan region demarcated by the boundary of Khandesh....

 and Berar
Berar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...

 and generally with the other presidencies of India. The Court of Directors of the East India Company appointed James J. Berkely as Chief Resident Engineer and C.B. Kar and R.W. Graham as his assistants. On July 1, 1925 its management was taken over by the Government. On November 5, 1951 it was incorporated into the Central Railway.

Bombay to Tannah

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
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

) for Tannah (present day Thane) The train took fifty-seven minutes to reach Tannah. 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. The railway bridge over Thane creek
Thane Creek
Thane Creek is part of the estuary of the Ulhas River in western India opening into Mumbai Harbour. It comprises the area stretching from Mumbra Retibunder to the Mankhurd-Vashi Bridge. It has been recognised as an Important Bird Area by the Bombay Natural History Society, as it is home to...

, 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
Khopoli
Khopoli is an industrial town in the Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. Patalganga River which is the tailrace channel of Tata Hydroelectric Power station flows through Khopoli....

 (present day Khopoli) via Padusdhurree (present day Palasdhari) and on June 14, 1858 Khandala
Khandala
Khandala is a hill station in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra, India, about three kilometres from Lonavala and seven kilometers from Karjat....

-Poonah (present day Pune) section was opened to traffic. The Padusdhurree-Khandala section involved the difficult crossing of the Bhore Ghat
Bhor Ghat
Bhor Ghat or Bor Ghat, Bhore Ghaut, is a mountain passage located between Karjat and Khandala in Maharashtra, India along the railway line and between Khopoli and Khandala....

 (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
Igatpuri
Igatpuri is a city and a Hill Station municipal council in Nashik District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. The station lies in Nashik District between Mumbai and Nashik Road on the Central Railway. Igatpuri is known for its Buddhist Pagoda for Meditation...

 (present day Igatpuri) was opened on January 1, 1865 and thus completed the crossing of the Sahyadri.

Further extensions

The south-east main line proceeded over Bhor Ghat to Poonah, Sholapore (present day Solapur) and Raichore
Raichur
Raichur , is a city municipal council in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It was in the princely state of Mysore during the rule of Tipu Sultan...

 (present day Raichur), where it joined the Madras Railway. By 1868, route kiometerage was 888 km and by 1870, route kilometerage was 2,388.

Bombay to Calcutta

Beyond Callian, the north-east main line proceeded over the Thull ghat to Bhosawal
Bhusawal
Bhusawal or Bhusaval is a city and a municipal council in Jalgaon district in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Geography:Bhusawal is located at . It has an average elevation of 209 metres ....

 (present day Bhusawal) near Nusseerabad. From Bhosawal, there was a bifurcation. One passed through great cotton district of Oomravuttee
Amravati
Amravati is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India and the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Amravati district...

 (present day Amravati) and was extended up to Nagpore
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

 (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. This route was officially opened on 7th March 1870 and it was part of the inspiration for French writer Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...

's book Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the...

. 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”.
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