Category:Railways
THIS TOPIC IS PRESENTLY A WORK-IN-PROGRESS AND LIABLE TO BROKEN LINKS AND SUDDEN CHANGE!
The railways in India were subject to constant changes of ownership, amalgamations and adjustments over the years. The categorisation below and the list at the bottom is intended to be comprehensive but not exhaustive.
The early railway companies were UK companies operating in India. Later the British Government of India (GoI) owned the majority and either managed them directly or leased them back to private management. From circa 1925 most railways were both owned and managed by the GoI.
- Guaranteed Railways included those railway companies, formed by 1859, to which the East India Company, later the GoI, guaranteed a fixed return on capital.
- Private Railways (those built without a guarantee) were few in munber - only two were formed in the period 1850-1866 and both these were re-constituted by 1870.
- State Railways were those either built and run directly by the GoI, or those where the GoI exercised its right to assume ownership (which it did gradually with all the original guaranteed railways from 1879 until 1907), or those whose promoters chose to surrender the workings to the GoI (and, in the cse of the guaranteed companies, received their capital back). From 1907, the word State was usually dropped from the name of railways in GoI ownership.
- Assisted Railways were those whose construction was assisted by the GoI, either by guaranteed return or subsidy or in some other material way.
- Indian States Railways were those built or promoted, often on similar terms to those above, by the various Princely States.
- Foreign Railways. Three small railways were built to serve foreign enclaves. These were managed by British companies but the lines could never vest in the GoI.
Records
It is important to bear in mind that railway staff records created in India before 1947 remain in India, as do the records of railways built, owned or operated by the Indian Princely States. The records that survive today in the collections held at the British Library do so because they were originally created in the UK.
Recommended Reading
Hyde Clarke, Colonization, Defence, and Railways in our Indian Empire (London: John Weale, 1857).
J.N. Westwood, Railways of India (Newton Abbot: David & Charles Ltd, 1974) [out of print; a general history of the railways of India from pre 1840 to the 1970s.]
Ian J Kerr, Building the Railways of the Raj 1850-1900 (Delhi; Oxford: OUP, 1995) [out of print; a detailed, academic examination with full bibliography.]
Ian J Kerr, Engines of Change : the Railroads that made India (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2007) [links to a Google Books preview limited to the first 35 pages].
External Links
The Imperial Gazetteer of India : New edition . . . in Council (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908-1931 [v. 1, 1909])
Indian Railways, "Evolution of Indian Railways - Historical Background," Indian Railway Administration and Finance
Mike's Railway History "Modern transport in India"
Subcategories
This category has the following 35 subcategories, out of 35 total.
A
- Assisted Railways (29 P)
B
- Bangladesh Railways (1 P)
C
- Coalfield/Colliery Railways (45 P)
D
- District Railway Boards (19 P)
E
F
- Foreign Railways (21 P)
G
- Guaranteed Railways (17 P)
I
- Indian Railways (14 P)
- Indian States Railways (168 P)
- Industrial Railways (356 P)
M
- Managing Agencies (53 P)
- Monorail (32 P)
N
- Narrow Gauge (NG) Railways (252 P)
P
- Pakistan Railways (2 P)
- Port Railways (19 P)
- Portable Railways (17 P)
- Private Railways (105 P)
R
- Railway Administration (10 P)
- Railway Constructions (123 P, 3 F)
- Railway Equipment Agents (8 P)
- Railway maps (286 F)
- Railway People (260 P)
- Railway Personnel Lists (8 P)
- Railway Regiments (19 P)
- Railway Surveys (46 P)
- Railway System Abbreviations (empty)
S
- State Railways (407 P)
T
- Train Ferries (7 P)
- Tramroads, Riverbed Crossings (11 P)
- Tramways (264 P)
Pages in category "Railways"
The following 200 pages are in this category, out of 1,752 total.
(previous page) (next page)J
- John Fowler & Company Ltd
- John Fowler Portable Railway System
- Joravarnagar - Sayla Railway
- Jorhat (Provincial) State Railway
- Jorhat State Railway
- Jowrah Branch Railway'
- Jubblupore Tramway/Monorail Project
- Jubbulpore Branch Line EIR
- Jubbulpore City Water Supply Construction Tramway
- Jubbulpore Gun Carriage Factory Monorail
- Jubbulpore Railway Workshop
- Jubbulpore-Gondia Railway
- Jubilee Bridge
- Jullunder-Ferozepore Mainline
- Jullundur-Doab Railway
- Jullundur-Mukerian Railway
- Jullundur-Nakodar Chord Railway
- Jumna Bridge
- Jumna Bridge (Delhi)
- Jumna Bridge (Muttra)
- Junadagh-Veraval Railway
- Junagad State Railway'
- Junagadh Salt & Chemical Works Railway
- Junagadh State Railway
- Jute Mills Railways
K
- Kabini Bridge
- Kaisar-i-Hind Bridge
- Kalabagh Barrage Construction Railway
- Kalabagh Bridge
- Kalabagh-Bannu Railway
- Kalaura-Sylhet Tramway
- Kalighat-Falta Railway
- Kalimati-Gorumahisani Extension Railway
- Kalka Railway Workshop
- Kalka-Simla Railway
- Kalkan-Bhore Ghat (Khandala) Mainline Section
- Kalpi Bridge
- Kamptee-Deolapar-Ramtek Railway
- Kanan Devan Hills Produce Co. Ltd Monorail
- Kanchrapara Railway Workshop
- Kanchrapara Railway Worshop
- Kandahar State Railway
- Kangra Valley Railway
- Kankurgachi Chord Railway
- Karachi Port Trust Railways
- Karachi Railway Workshop
- Karachi Tramway
- Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Railway
- Karaikkal-Peralam Railway
- Karanpura Coalfields Railways
- Karepalli-Kothagudem Railway
- Kargali Colliery
- Karwar and Hubli Railway Survey
- Karwar-Dharwar Light Railway Proposal 1858
- Kashmir Railway
- Kasunda-Tetulmari Link Line EIR
- Kasur-Lodhran Railway
- Katakhal Lalbazar Railway
- Katangi Branch Line BNR
- Katarnian Ghat Branch
- Katchidhana Branch Line BNR
- Kathgodam-Nandhaur Forest Tramway
- Kathiawar Peninsula Railway and Tramway Systems
- Kathiawar State Railway
- Katihar Branch Railway
- Katihar Section Railway
- Katkuiyan Sugar Factory
- Katni-Umaria Provincial State Railway
- Katpadi- Dharmavaram Railway Section
- Katras Branch Line EIR
- Katras-Khanoodih Extension Line EIR
- Katras-Mulkera Cross Connection Line EIR
- Kaunia-Bonarpara Extension Railway
- Kaunia-Dharlia State Tram/Railway
- Kaunia-Kurigram Railway
- Kaunia-Teesta Section Railway
- Kazipet-Balharshah Railway
- Kemmendine Quarry Railway, Burma
- Ken Canal/Gangoa Dam Construction Railway
- Khai to Gang Canal Tramway
- Khamagaon-Jalna Railway
- Khambhalia-Bhanvad Guide Ways Monorail Tramway
- Khamgaon Branch Railway
- Khamgaon Branch, NE line
- Khanai-Hindubagh Railway
- Khandwa-Jubbulpore Mainline Section
- Khanewal to Lodhran Section
- Khanewal-Lodhran (via Sher Shar) Chord
- Khangaum Railway
- Khanki Barrage Railways
- Khanpur-Chachran Railway
- Kharaghoda Magnesium Works Railway
- Kharaghoda Salt Works Railway
- Kharagpur Railway Workshops
- Khewra Salt Mines Tramway
- Khijadiya-Dhari Railway
- Khirsadoh-Sirgora Spur Line BNR
- Khojak Rope Inclines
- Khojak Tunnel
- Khopoli Branch, SE line
- Khost Colliery Tramway
- Khulna Branch Railway
- Khulna-Bagerhat Railway
- Khundwah and Indore Railway Gauge Objection
- Khushal Garh Bridge
- Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway
- Khwaja Amran Railway Survey
- Khyber Railway
- Kiamari-Lahore Mainline
- Kichha-Kashipur Extension Survey
- Killick, Nixon & Company
- Kishanganj Branch Railway
- Kissengunge-Kotchandpur-Magura Branch Survey
- Kistna Bridge, Bezwada(ECR)
- Kistna District Board
- Kistna Viaduct, Raichur(GIPR)
- Kiul Railway Bridge
- Koari Bridge
- Kodaigaon Manganese Mine Railway
- Kohat Section Line
- Kohat-Thal Railway
- Koilwar Bridge
- Kokila Mookh Tramway
- Kokilamukh State Railway
- Kolar and Mysore District Board
- Kolar District Railway
- Kolar Gold Fields Railway
- Kolhapur State Railway
- Kosamba-Zankhvav Railway
- Kosi Branch Railway
- Kotah & Jhalawar States Railway
- Kotayar Dam Construction Tramway
- Kotchandpur Branch Railway
- Kotri Bridge
- Kotri-Rohri Railway
- Krishna Railway Bridge, Kudachi
- Krishnager-Nabadwip Light Railway
- Kulasekharapatnam Light Railway
- Kulasekharapatnam Tissainvillai Light Railway
- Kulti Iron Works Railway
- Kumaon Iron Works Tramway
- Kumar River Railway Bridge
- Kumardhubi-Gomoh EIR Section
- Kunch- Madhggarh Railway
- Kundala Valley Railway
- Kundale Valley Light Railway
- Kundian-Campbellpur Section
- Kunkavav-Bagasra Railway
- Kuranga-Adatra Railway
- Kuranga-Okha Railway
- Kurasia Colliery
- Kurhurbaree Colliery
- Kurigram Branch Railway
- Kurla(Kerala)-Chembur Railway
- Kurla-Trombay Railway
- Kurung Tank Construction Railway
- Kushtia Loop Railway
- Kutch State Railway
- Kymore Cement Works Railway
L
- Lacmipur Forest Tramway
- Ladna Extension Line JBR
- Lahore & Peshawar Railway
- Lahore Municipality Conservancy Tramway Proposal
- Lahore Railway Workshop
- Lahore Tramway Company
- Lahore via Raiwind to Khanewa Section
- Lahore-Karachi Mainline
- Lakheri Cement Works Railway
- Lala Musa - Mayo Salt Mine Railway
- Lala Musa-Sher Shah Mainline
- Lalgola Ghat Branch Railway
- Lalmanir Hat- Gitaldaha Railway
- Lalmonirhat-Gitaldaha(Geetaldaha) Railway
- Lansdowne Bridge
- Larkana-Jacobabad (Sind) Light Railway
- Lashio Branch Railway
- Ledo and Tikak Margherita Colliery Railway
- Light Military Reserve Railway
- Light Portable Railway
- Lingiyadih-Bilaspur Light Railway
- Livingopuram Salt Branch Line
- Lloyd Barrage Construction Railways
- Lloyd Dam Construction Railway
- Lodhran to Rohri Section
- Lohat Sugar Factory Railway
- Loi Shilman Railway
- Lonauli Railway Workshop
- Lower Bari Doab Canal
- Lower Chenab Canal Construction Railway
- Lower Ganges Bridge (Sara)
- Lower Ganges Canal Construction Railways/Tramway
- Lower Jhelum Canal Construction Railway
- Lower Parel Railway Workshop
- Lucknow Electric Tramway
- Lucknow Railways and Stations
- Lucknow, Ganges River Crossing
- Lucknow-Bareilly LBSR Mainline
- Lucknow-Bareilly State Railway
- Lucknow-Cawnpore Tramway
- Lucknow-Sitapur & Bareilly Railway
Media in category "Railways"
The following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total.
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Izat Bridge.png 607 × 134; 126 KB
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Kistna Viaduct GIPR c.1871.png 479 × 343; 205 KB
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Kistna Viaduct GIPR c.1935.png 713 × 449; 288 KB