Tapti Valley Railway
The Tapti Valley Railway Company was a private company formed in 1896. The broad gauge(BG) line was worked by Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR)[1].
The Surat-Amalner Railway had been commenced in 1886 to link Surat to Amalner and owned by the Killick Nixon Company becoming the Tapti Valley Railway Company when the company was formed in 1896. [2] [3] The line was developed in stages - the Vyara section of 100 miles was completed by 1896, followed by the Nandurbar section of 57 miles. When completed it covered 157 miles(251km) starting from Surat via Udhna, Bardoli, Vyara, Nandurbar, Dondaicha, Virdel, Sindkheda up to Amalner [3].
In 1901 the Great Indian Peninsula Railway(GIPR) built an extension from Bhusaval and the Jalgaon - Amalner rail extension of further 34 miles across Parola, Dharangaon to join with its line with Tapi Valley Railway terminus at Amalner, thus in 1901 Surat - Bhusaval were connected [3].
In 1942 the Tapti Valley Railway Company became owned and managed by the Government of India(GoI)[1].
Records
Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library
An on-line search of the IOR records [1] relating to this railway gives several references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/40 “Records of the India Office relating to the Tapti Valley Railway Company; 1896-1908”; with statement under Catalogue contents ‘Company formed in India in 1896. Line ran eastward from Surat City to Amalner via Nandurbar and Sindkheda, a distance of some 156 miles. Worked by the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Company from 1899 (see IOR/L/AG/46/6). Owned and managed by Government from 1942’
- L/F/8/14/1010 “Messrs. Killick, Nixon and Company, Agreement for the formation of a company for the construction of a railway from Surat to Nundurbar and on to Amalner, in connection with the Bombay, Baroda and Central Indian Railway Company; 1896”
Further Information
See Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR)
and BB&CIR BG Lines Managed and Worked
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved 4 Feb 20016
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page20; Retrieved 4 Feb 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wikipedia "KGK Contributions" Section 1.4/1880-90/Tapti Valley; Retrieved 4 Feb 2016
