9,628
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→History: Great Trunk Railway' info and link added
The '''East Indian Railway''' Company (EIR) was formed in May 1845 with a power to raise a capital of 4 million pound sterling and Stephenson was the first Agent and Chief Engineer.
The early development of the EIR was based on the significant discussions, reports and papers were being prepared and circulated as proposed in the minutes of the Honourable the Court of Directors of the [[ East India Company]](EIC), of the 7th May, 1845. In the event the EIR were given consent construct a railway from [[Calcutta]] to [[Mirzapur|Mirzapore(Mirzapur)]] and the [[North West Provinces]]. This comprehensive Report with other papers, letters and observations has been transcribed in full by Fibis as it contains significant details and analysis and is described as the [[Great Trunk Railway from Calcutta|’ Great Trunk Railway from Calcutta’ ''- see separate page for details'']].
After four years of protracted negotiation and strenuous efforts, including a direct appeal to the British Prime Minister, a contact was signed in August 1849 between the EIR and the EIC and became one of the three original guaranteed companies sanctioned to construct experimental lines. It was not until August 1854 that the EIR opened its first section from [[Howrah]] to [[Hooghly]], a distance of 24 miles (38km. On 3rd February, 1855, the first portion of the line, 121 miles(194km) from [[Howrah]]) to [[Burdwan]] ( towards Delhi), was opened by Lord Dalhousie <ref name=SoP>"Symphony of Progress: The Saga of Eastern Railway 1854-2003" published by the Eastern Railway, Kolkata 2003, page 7, 10, 14 </ref>.
