Sindia-Neemuch Railway

The Sindia-Neemuch State Railway , marked in Green on map, was a metre gauge(MG) line from Indore to Neemuch a length of 156 miles(250km). The ‘Holkar State Railway’ from Khandwa had reached Indore in 1876. This railway extended the line northward reaching Fatehabad in 1876, Rutlam in 1878 , Jaora in Feb 1880 and finally to Neemuch in July 1880. From Fatehabad a 12 mile(19km) branch line to Ujjain opened in 1876 .

Sindia-Neemuch State Railway – marked in Green

Alternative Names and Spellings

Not to be confused with the broad gauge Sindia State Railway.

• ‘Sindia-Neemuch State Railway’ is the most common form used in documents in the period up to merger into Rajputana-Malwa State Railway in 1881-82
• ‘Scindia-Neemuch Railway’ is also given using the alternative spelling of Scindia
• ‘Scindia-Nimach State Railway’ used in some early documents using thealternative spelling of Neemuch.
• ‘Neemuch State Railway’ is given in some documents
• ‘Indore Division’ was used to describe this line being part of the joint working of the ‘Holkar & Scindia-Neemuch Railway’

• Neemuch with alternative spelling Nimach
• Scindia is the name of the ruling family that ruled Gwalior State, with alternative spelling Sindia

Operating Arrangements

The line was worked jointly with the MG ‘ Holkar State Railway’ - see separate page for information – blue on map. Together the two lines were a joint operation under the title the Holkar & Sindia-Neemuch State Railways but separate accounts were held for each section. By 1878-79 these were described as the ‘Holkar Division’ and the ‘Indore Division’ .

The MG line continued northward from Neemuch and named the ‘Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway’ - see separate page for information which reached Nasirabad in Dec 1881 where it connected through to Ajmer, all these lines coming together as part of the Rajputana-Malwa State Railway in 1881-82 and from 1900 becoming the MG division of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR)'

Early History

Surveys between Indore and Neemuch started long back in 1871-72 when the plan and estimates for the whole project was submitted to the Government of India in 1872-73. The Maharaja of Scindia agreed to grant a loan of Rs. 75 lakhs at 4 per cent per annum interest for the project and the railway was named the Sindia-Neemuch State Railway. It also included a branch line from Fatehabad to Ujjain. The Indore to Ujjain line was opened in August 1876 where there was an interchange with the broad gauge(BG) Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR), later becoming the 'Ujjain Branch Line'. The line was completed through to Neemuch in 1879-80 with onward construction of the ‘Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway’

From about 1874 the railway operated as the ‘Holkar & Sindia-Neemuch Railways’ as a joint operation with the Holkar State Railway.

Amalgamation

In 1881-82, the Rajputana-Malwa State Railway (RMSR) was created joining under single management, existing State Railways:-

• ‘Holkar State Railway’
• ‘Sindia-Neemuch State Railway’
• ‘Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway’
• ‘Rajputana State Railway’(RSR)
• ‘Western Rajputana State Railway’

All these railways were worked by the ‘Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway’(BB&CIR) State Railway.

In 1900 the RMSR was merged into the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR), becoming the latter's Metre Gauge(MG) section; known as ‘Ratlam Division’ of BB&CIR. Later being designated as part of the ‘BB&CIR Malwa Section Main Line’ .

Personnel

• Henry Dangerfield in 1878 transferred to the ‘Holkar State Railway’ and ‘Sindia-Neemuch State Railway’ as Superintendent of Way and Works, and he held this post till Dec 1880, being also manager of the line for the last two years .
• James Condor was appointed Manager of ‘Sindia-Neemuch State Railway’ in 1881. He was, at the same time, Manager of Holkar State Railway and Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway .

The 1878-79 Record, para 7, for the Engineering Department states “ Mr. H. Dangerfield, Superintendent of Way and Works, is Officiating as Manager of the line during the absence of Captain W. S. S. Bisset, R. E., on field service, and Mr. W. C. L. Floyd, Executive Engineer, 4th Grade, is appointed to the charge of the Holkar Division, Holkar State Railway, and Mr. R. E. Wright, Executive Engineer, 4th Grade, to the charge of the Indore Division, Neemuch State Railway, Mr. Ker, Assistant Engineer, having been transferred to other line and Mr. Landon having gone on furlough”. Para 43 Traffic Department, states “Mr. W. E. Hartt has been in charge of this department, and Mr. C. E. Vining, an additional Assistant Traffic Superintendent, was appointed to the line in March 1879 .

Further Information

See also Holkar & Sindia-Neemuch State Railways
see Rajputana-Malwa State Railway for period from 1881-82 to 1900
and Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway from 1900 onwards