Rajputana-Malwa State Railway

Rajputana-Malwa State Railway
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Line of route
Ahmadabad to Delhi Agra to Delhi Agra to Cawnpore Ajmer to Khandwa Rewari to Fazilka
Gauge / mileage
Metre gauge	1783 miles (1905) 1879 miles (1943)
Timeline
1873	First section open to traffic
1877	Construction of Ajmer Workshops begun
1895	First locomotive built in India at Ajmer Works
Key locations
Presidency	Bengal
Stations	Agra, Ahmadabad, Ajmer, Bareilly, Bhatinda, Cawnpore, Delhi, Fazilka, Indore, Jaipur, Khandwa, Rewari, Rutlam
System agency
1873	State agency
1900	Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway
How to interpret this infobox

The Rajputana-Malwa State Railway (RMSR) was both the first railway in India to be constructed to Metre Gauge(MG) standards, and the first railway to be built and operated under the auspices of the (British) Government of India(GoI)

Rajputana-Malwa State Railway

History

Originally called the Rajputana State Railway(RSR), the initial construction in 1873 and 1874 was to link Delhi to Agra via Alwar and Bandikui. In 1875, the line had extended as far as Ajmer with the aim to reach Ahmadabad and to connect to the Broad Gauge (BG) of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway(BB&CIR).

In 1877 the Ajmer Workshop was established see seperate page

In 1879, the RSR was again authorised to build new lines in metre gauge.

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

• Rajputana State Railway (RSR)
• Holkar State Railway, which had opened 1874 from Khandwa reaching Indore, 1876.
• Sindia-Neemuch Railway from Indore to Nimach, including a branch line from Indore to Ujjain opened in August 1876 . The entire line was completed in 1879-80
• Neemuch Nasirabad State Railway, Neemuch to Ajmer, the construction was started in 1879, and the work completed in March 1881
• Western Rajputana State Railway, known to have existed but no information found.

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

The separate identity of RMSR remained only for a shortwhile and its management was handed over to BB&CIR on 1 January 1885.

In 1895, the first steam locomotive to be entirely built in India was turned out of Ajmer Works.

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.

Associated Military Force

• Rajputana-Malwa Volunteer Rifle Corps

Records

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

• L/F/8/12/895; “Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Company, Contract as to maintenance, management and working of the Rajputana Malwa Railway by the company”; 24 Sep 1884
• R/2/188/392; “File 7/1901 Contract between the Secretary of State for India and the B.B.& C.I. Railway revising with effect from the 1st July 1900, the arrangements for working the Rajputana-Malwa Railway and other lines”; 1901

Personnel

See also the predecessor Rajputana State Railway

• William Richard Sumption Jones, 1880-93, posted to Rajputana State Railway(RSR) to take charge of the completion and equipment of the Central Workshops at Ajmir as Carriage and Wagon Superintendent, which by absorption of other lines in 1883 became the RMSR, and he remained in the same appointment until his retirement in 1893 .
• Frederick Nicholas Gutersloh, 1880-91, Locomotive Superintendent Rajputana State Railway(RSR), which by absorption of other lines in 1883 became the RMSR .
• Cornelius Edward Cardew from 1876, appointed to Indian State Railways, Locomotive Department. Served for over thirty years being posted to Rajputana State Railway which became Rajputana-Malwa State Railway and other railways
• Henry Dangerfield, 1883 Sept - 1885 Jan, RMSR officiated as Manager in addition to his duties as Manager and Engineer-in-Chief Bhavnagar-Gondal State Railway .
• James Condor from the Public Works Department(PWD) was the Traffic Superintendent for RMSR from 1884 until retirement in 1890 .
• Robert Edwin Wright 1885 January, 'Rajputana-Malwa State Railway' with the leasing to the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Company his charge was extended to Ajmere, and thus comprised the whole of the Malwa Section. He was promoted to Executive Engineer, third grade in 1880, second grade in 1885 and first grade in 1887 and died in Nov. 1877..
• Thomas Ker from PWD was the Execucutive Engineer for RMSR in 1890 , he retired in 1894 .
• Charles Vernon MacIvor from PWD was the Execucutive Engineer for RMSR in 1890 , in 1895 he was Officiating Engineer-in-Chief and retired in 1896 .

Further Information

• General inform. see Rajputana Territory Railways
• From 1900, see page Bombay, Baroda & Central India Railway Network - Lines owned and worked
• From 1951, see page Western Railway Zone of Indian Railways
• From 2002, became North Western Zone of Indian Railways .