Calcutta and South Eastern Railway

The Calcutta and South Eastern Railway (CSER) was formed in 1859 for "the construction and working of a line from Calcutta to the Port of the Mutlah - length, about 29 miles. Capital 250,000l. Rate of Interest Guaranteed - 5 per cent." 1

Characteristics

In 1868, having suffered extensive losses on their Sealdah-Canning line because of floods and other problems, the directors of the CSER decided to transfer the line to the Government of India in return for the capital costs. The CSER thus became the first railway in state ownership.

Records

The following are held in the India Office Records at the British Library.

• L/AG/46/4/13 : Contracts of appointment (1856-1866).

The above is partially indexed in

• Z/L/AG/46 : Index to UK Appointments to Indian Railways (1849-1925).

Notes

1 "Money Market and City Intelligence", The Times, Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.