CHAPTER – I HISTORY OF RAILWAYS AND EVOLUTION OF SIGNALLING SYSTEM 1 Evolution of Indian Railways: 1.1 The fundamentals of Railway transportation are to move vast traffic carrying goods and people speedily and with safety on a prepared track that supports and guides the vehicles which roll along its surface. A railway train must go where the rails lead it to. The process might have begun accidentally when Babylonians and perhaps their Sumerian ancestors observed that their two wheeled, animal drawn, carriage gauged out parallel ruts in the ground path, which they most commonly followed. Greeks made the smooth stone ways for transporting their heavy material for building monuments. Thus the railway existed even earlier to evolution of steam engines as long back as 2245 BC i.e. some 4250 years back. 1.2 Horse traction began after introduction of iron rails and lasted beyond 19th century. The revolution to transport industry came with the evolution of steam engines. Although steam loco was invented in 1803 but it took innumerable refinements before it could be adopted for reliable and safe substitute for horse. The story of railways as we perceive to is 180 years old only. A pair of bullocks hauled traffic on first indigenously financed railways named as Gailwar’s Baroda State railway (GBSR), which was opened in 1863. 1.3 Idea to connect the then Bombay with Thana with a railway track was conceived by Chief Engineer, Bombay Government in 1843. Great India Peninsula Railway (GIPR) Company was incorporated in England by an act of Parliament on 1st August, 1849. The Railway Company entered into a contract with East India Company on17th August, 1849, accordingly the Railway Company was to raise capital of ₤ 500,000. The construction of the line from Bombay to Kalyan started on 31st October, 1850. The first railway line in India covering 34 kilometres between Boribunder, the then Bombay and Thana was opened on 16th April 1853, barely 28 years after the World’s first train made its initial success run between Stockton and Darlington in England in 1825. Within one year the line was extended to Kalyan on 1st May, 1854. This was first railway system in Asia. 1.4 In Eastern sector, first passenger train moved out of Howrah station for Hogly on 15th August, 1854 covering a distance of 39 kilometres. The railway line was extended by 61 kilometres upto Pundooah on 1st Septmber, 1854 and then further extended upto Raniganj on 3rd February, 1855. First by 101 kilometres railway line was opened between Veyasarpaudy and Walajah Road on 1st July 1856 in South. In North first Railway line was laid between Allahabad and Kanpur, a distance of 192 kilometres on 3rd March, 1859 and then in Amritsar-Atari section was opened after three years. Hathras Road to Mathura Cantt. section was opened on 19th October, 1875. Dibrugarh Town to Dinjan section in East was opened on 15th August, 1882. 1.5 During 1854 and 1860, the contract to private companies to built and operate the railways was made by East India Company or after 1858 by the secretary of State for India, with the East Indian Railway company, the GIPRS company, the Madras railway company, the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway company, the Eastern Bengal railway company, the 1 Great southern of India Railway Company and Calcutta and South Eastern railway company. Under these contracts the Railway Companies undertook and managed specified lines to which East India company and later Secretary to State for India agreed to provide land free of cost and also guaranteed return on capital varying as 5%, 4 ¾%, 4 ½% in different cases according to market rates prevalent at the time of execution of the contract. The rate of exchange for remittance of interest was also fixed. Half of any surplus of profits earned was to be used towards repaying the Government any sums by which it had been called upon to supplement at the net earning in any previous period to make good the guaranteed rate of interest, and the remainder was to belong to the share holders. The terms on which the contracts were given were considered in India as well as in England as unduly generous for the British Investors. 1.6 Government ownership of Railways – For several years after 1869, the capital expenditure on Railways was mainly incurred direct by the Government and no fresh contracts were made with guaranteed companies except for small extensions. However, consequent on severe famine in 1878, the necessity of rapid extension of the railway system was felt by Government and it was decided to use private enterprise to the extent possible with such guarantees as would secure investment of capital without involving Government in financial or other liabilities of an objectionable nature. On this basis, a number of companies were formed between 1881 and 1892, and the guarantees which were given to some of these companies were much more favourable to Government than in the case of companies formed prior to 1869. In dealing with the guaranteed companies formed before 1869 and with those formed in 1881 and subsequently, Government’s endeavour was to secure, at the earliest possible date, wherever it had the right to terminate the original contract after a specific period, either more favourable terms under fresh contracts or ownership by purchasing the company under the terms of the contract. Thus under the terms negotiated with the various guaranteed Railway Companies, the dates of termination of contracts fell between 1879 and 1907 1.7 Company management of Government Railways –The Eastern Bengal, the Oudh and Rohilkhand, the Sind-Punjab and Delhi, and the Southern Punjab Railways, the last two forming part of the North Western Railway, Company Railways were transferred to Government management after purchase. The management of some of the other purchased lines was, however, entrusted to working companies constituted under contracts which determined the relationship between the Government and the Working Companies generally. The contracts with the working companies were terminated in due course and the management of the companies was taken over directly by the Government on the dates given below: Name of the Railway Date of taking over by Government 1) The East Indian Railway 1st January, 1925 2) The Great Indian Peninsula Railway 1st July, 1925 3) The Bombay Baroda and Central Indian Railway 1st January, 1942 4) The Assam Bengal Railway 1st January, 1942 5) Oudh and Tirhut Railway 1st January, 1943 6) The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway 1st April, 1944 7) The South Indian Railway 1st April, 1944 8) The Bengal Nagpur Railway 1st October, 1944 2 1.8 Partition of country affecting railways– With the attainment of independence and partition of the country on the 15th August, 1947, two of the exiting Railway systems (viz., North Western Railway in the west and the Bengal Assam Railway in the East), Which fell into both the territories, had to be divided. The portions of these systems falling in India were either partly added to the other existing lines or partly formed into separates units, thus the Eastern Punjab Railway and the Assam Railway Administration came into being as separate units although they were not considered economical, efficient and self- sufficient systems. An administrative re-organisation with a view to securing both efficiency in operation and economy in management, therefore, became a compelling necessity. 1.9 Taking over of the ex-States Railways – As a result of integration of the Indian State into a small number of sizeable units after their incorporation in the Union, and the further integration with the Union of their federal functions, the railways owned and managed by those States came under the control of the Central Government in addition to those which were already being worked by the Indian Railways and were later merged into the contiguous Indian Railway System. These were Gaekwar’s Baroda State Railway, 736 miles, taken over on 1st August, 1949 was merged with the Bombay and Baroda and Central Indian Railway System from the date taking over; Bikaner State Railway, 883 miles; Cutch State Railway, 72 miles; Dholpur State Railway, 56 miles; Jaipur State Railway,253 miles; Jodhpur State Railway, 807 miles; Mysore State Railway, 2 miles; Nizam’s State Railway, 1,396 miles; Rajasthan Railway,179 miles; Saurashtra Railway, 1,274 miles; Scindian State Railway, 294 miles, were taken over on 1st April, 1950. 1.10 Re-organisation of Railways in 1951 - 1952– The revision of financial convention, with effect from 1st April, 1950 regulating relationship between general and the Railway finances, along with the integration of all the railways, compelled reorganisation of the entire Railway system resulting in creation of six Zonal Administrative units viz. 1.) Southern Railway with 9867 route kilometres formed on 14th April 1951 merging Madras and Southern Railway 4732 kilometres, South Indian Railways, 3782 kilometres and Mysore State Railways, 1173 kilometres; 2) Central Railway with 8739 route kilometres, formed on 5th November, 1951 merging Great Indian Penisula Railway, 5823 kilometres, Nizam’s State Railway, 2353 kilometres, Dholpur State Railway, 90 kilometres and Scindia State Railway, 473 kilometres; 3) Western railway with ,8793 route kilometres merging Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway except Delhi – Rewari- Fazilka and Kanpur – Achnera sections, 5670 kilometres, Surashtra Railway, 2195 kilometres, Jaipur State Railway, 469 kilometres, Rajsthan railway 317 kilometres, Cutch State Railway, 116