16 April 2024 - Indian Railways - the lifeline of the nation completes 171 years of passenger train run today - 16 April 1853 from Victoria Terminus, Bombay (then called Bori Bundar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai of today) to Thane. 34 Km, 14 coaches, 400 passengers pulled by 3 Steam Engines – Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. Two of the 10 Investors in this venture were Indian. One - Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (The founder of the famous JJ Hospital and JJ School of Art in Mumbai) and the other - Jagannath Shankarsheth Murkute (Founder of Elphinstone College, Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, Has a road named after him both in Mumbai and Pune). Proposed in 1832 in Chennai, First Cargo Train Run in Chennai in 1837 and formal company founded in 1849 as Great Indian Peninsular Railway GIP that later become Central Railway in 1951.. First passenger run – All India was today, Howrah to Hooghly on 15 Aug 1854 and Madras to Arcot on 01 July 1856. The present day Railway Line Length of Indian Railways is 68,426 km and a Track Length of 1, 28, 305 Km with 18 Zones with 12.2 Lakh personnel in service.
The Logo of Indian Railways. The Stars represent the Railway Zones and allied establishments.
Rail Zones of Indian Railways and their Foundation Dates and their Headquarters (In Hindi)
Rail Bhawan, New Delhi - The Headquarters of Indian Railways
Train on the Thane Viaduct. 1855. Early Days of Passenger Trains in India
Vande Bharat Express (Also called Train 18, launched in 2019) - The latest and fastest train in India at the moment, running on 51 routes with a top operational speed of 160 Kmph.
Bholu - Active in the day and also vigilant at night.
Incidentally, the date
of my first solo travel in life also strangely coincides with this historic
date. 15 April - on the eve of the Birthday of Indian Railways for its first
passenger train run, I traveled alone a distance of 918 kms in 21 hours from
Bhandara Road (63 kms east of Nagpur on SE Railway) to Vadodara (WR) by Howrah - Ahmadabad Express. I was 15 then, just completed my Class 10th or
SSC Exams. I have been travelling alone ever since, all over the country. So
this Birthday is always very special for me too!
Bhubaneswar - Mumbai Konark Express entering Wadi (Karnataka). Zoom and count the coach I am in from the Engine or Locomotive.
Howrah - Pune Azad Hind Express on the border of Chhatisgarh - Maharashtra at Darekasa between Durg and Nagpur. (Maharashtra)
Pune - Nagpur AC Express leaving Daund towards Manmad (Maharashtra)
Howrah - Pune Azad Hind Express entering Badnera (Near. Amravati, Maharashtra)
Nagpur - Bilaspur Intercity Express at the famous Diamond Cross of tracks at Nagpur. (Maharashtra)
Chilika Lake (Odisha). Second largest lagoon in the world. Situated between Khurda Road and Brahmapur Stations on the Howrah - Chennai East Coast Line, the train travels for about 20 kms from Balugaon to Rambha along its shores. Clicked aboard Bhubaneswar - Mumbai Konark Express at a speed of around 110kmph. A thrilling experience indeed!
The Birthday of Indian Railways Passenger Travel and My Anniversary of First Solo Train Travel had an icing on the cake in 2018, when Central Railways Zone, Mumbai released a wonderful documentary - The Matheran Odyssey on the famous Matheran Light Railway on its YouTube Channel and also on twitter as a part of the 63rd Railway Week Celebrations. The Main Function was scheduled at Bhopal, where this film was screened in front of the then Union Minister for Railways – Mr. Piyush Goyal. This documentary had my Voice Over.
I was honoured to be a part of this project. Thank You and Hats off to the zeal and passion of its creators Aniruddha Pimpalkhare and Radhika Mokashi of Whatever Creations, along with Santosh Verulkar and his entire team at the Central Railway PR Office at CSMT, Mumbai led by Mr. Sunil Udasi. Thank You everybody. Please do see this and share it with all.
