India's first passenger train journey

India's first passenger train journey 

India's First Train, First passenger train journey India, 1853 1st Indian Train journey, 

India's first passenger train journey  on 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder in Mumbai and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometres (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan. This was soon followed by opening of the first passenger railway line in North India between Allahabad and Kanpur on March 3, 1859.

In twentieth century India had a multitude of rail services with diverse ownership and management, operating on broad, metre and narrow gauge networks. In 1900 the government took over the GIPR network, while the company continued to manage it. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to transport troops and foodgrains to the port city of Mumbai and Karachi en route to UK, Mesopotamia, East Africa etc. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state. In 1923, both GIPR and EIR were nationalized with the state assuming both ownership and management control.

160th anniversary of the first passenger train in India is the subject of Tuesdays' Google doodle.

The history of rail transport in India goes all the way back to 1832, when a plan for a rail system in India was first put forward. The first rail line in the Indian sub-continent came up near Chintadripet Bridge (in modern-day Chennai) in 1836 as an "experimental line". In 1837, a 5.6 km long rail line was established between Red Hills and the stone quarries near St. Thomas Mount.

However, it wasn't until 1853-54, when two new railway companies, Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) and East Indian Railway (EIR), were created, that the railways as we known it today began to take shape. GIPR was asked to setup near Mumbai, and EIR was to setup a railway line near Kolkata (Calcutta at the time). Thus, the first train in India became operational on 22 December 1851 for localised hauling of canal construction material in Roorkee.

16 April 1853 was the historic date when India's first passenger train journey took place between Bori Bunder in Mumbai and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometres, it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan.

Google on Tuesday marked the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train journey in India with a doodle on its homepage. 

The search engine giant takes its visitors on a short journey into the history of Indian Railways, with a train pulled by a steam engine along the palm-lined railway track. The first 'O' of Google depicts the front part of the steam engine of the passenger train. Indeed, 16 April, 1853, was the day on which the first commercial passenger train left Mumbai's Bori Bunder for Thane.

Now Leading Trainls of India Are Following : 

1 Duronto Express These are the non-stop point to point trains (except for operational stops) introduced in 2009 connecting metros and major state capitals and are faster than Rajdhani Express. They consist of first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC and sleeper classes.
2 Rajdhani Express These are air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. They are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 130 km (81 mi) per hour. There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route.
3 Shatabdi Express and Jan Shatabdi Express These are air-conditioned and non-airconditioned respectively intercity trains for day travel. They generally have only seats. Some of them also have one coach with berths.
4 Garib Rath These trains contain AC three-tier and AC chair car coaches with fares less than the fares for the same classes in other trains. They are almost as fast as Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains.
5 Superfast Express These trains have an average speed greater than 55 km (34 mi) per hour and stop at a few stations. The tickets for these trains have an additional superfast surcharge.
6 Express and Mail trains These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their superfast counterparts but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations.
7 Passenger and Fast Passenger These are slow trains that stop at most stations along the route and have the lowest fare. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper and 3A coaches.
8 Suburban trains These trains operate in urban and suburban areas of major cities, usually stop at all stations, have unreserved seating accommodation and also have one or more separate coaches only for women. They have the same low fare as passenger trains. Monthly and quarterly tickets (referred to as season tickets) for suburban trains are also available at subsidised prices.