History of Railways

Trade Union movement in Indian Railways

  • With the formation and recognition of employees organization the management cannot make unilateral decisions that affect employee relationships.
  • Decisions relating to policies on employment, transfer ,promotion, training, adoption of latest technology, wages,  lay off are no longer can be determined unilaterally by the management and employees unions has to be consulted.

Historical development of Indian Railways

1844 – First proposals for the construction of Railways in India were submitted to East India Company by R.M. Stephenson, a Railway Engineer in British India.

1849 - East India company undertakes a construction of a 160  km Railway line from Calcutta to Mirzapur.

1850 - Contract undertaken by Indian Peninsular Railway for construction of a line from Bombay to Kalyan.

1853- First Railway line between Boribunder (Bombay VT) and Thane (32 km) opened.

1854 – First train between Howra and Hoogly (39 km) was run.

Indian Railway History

Setting up a railway system in British India, criss-crossing the vast expanse of the subcontinent , was first proposed in 1832. Rail travel was still in its infancy in Britain itself, but the East India Company saw clearly the benefits of developing an extensive rail network. After over a decade of inaction on the matter in 1844, private entrepreneurs were allowed to launch a rail system by Lord Hardinge, the Governor-General of India.

Heritage Railways

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the world’s oldest mountain steam train. Opened in 1881, with careful maintenance and loving care, it remains still in active service. The track gauge is 61cm. The last stop, Darjeeling, is at 2143 metres. It takes eight hours to climb the 2000 metres between.

 

darjeeling Railway