Scindia-Neemuch Railway

The Scindia-Neemuch Railway; the first section was opened c. 1874 as a metre gauge(MG) line from Neemuch (+Nimach+) to Indore.

+Note Neemuch is also named as Nimach.

The railway is named the Sindia-Neemuch State Railways in some early documents.

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 renamed the Scindia-Neemuch Railway. It also included a branch line to Ujjain from Indore. The Indore–Ujjain branch line was opened in August 1876 and the line was completed in 1879-80.

From about 1874 the railway operated as the Holkar & Scindia-Neemuch Railway 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:-

• Rajputana State Railway (RSR)
• Holkar State Railway
• Scindia-Neemuch Railway
• Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway
• Western Rajputana State Railway

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

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..

Records

An on-line search of the India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library relating to this railway gives the following:-

• V/24/3590; “India. Public Works Department: Railways” with Catalogue contents “Report on the progress and administration of the Holkar and Sindia-Neemuch State Railways, 1878/79”

Personnel

• Henry Dangerfield in 1878 transferred to Holkar State Railway and Scindia-Neemuch 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 Railway in 1881. He was, at the same time, Manager of Holkar State Railway and Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway .

Further Information

See Rajputana-Malwa State Railway and Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway