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*1845. Registered as a company in 1845, with its head office in London, the Great ‘Great Indian Peninsula railway initially proposed a length of 1300 miles, to connect Bombay with the interior of the Indian peninsula and to a major port on the east coast. It was meant for the purpose of increasing the export of cotton, silk, opium, sugar and spices . The Announcement of company formation gave the listing of the ‘Committee of Management ‘ <ref name=RegGIPR>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Great_Indian_Peninsula_Railway:_1845_Company_Registration Grace's Guide " GIPR 1945 Company Registration] Retrieved on 3 Jul 20165 May 2020</ref>. One of these being [[Robert Stephenson]], London based Consulting Engineer, he remained in this capacity until 1859*1847. [[Robert Stephenson |Stephenson ]] reported preliminary findings to the directors, although he cannot have been in a position to provide more than general advice and a reviews of the material gathered by the surveys This concluded that the best method to climb 1800 feet over the Ghat mountains in just 15 miles was to use locomotives assisted by ropes worked by a stationary engine <ref name=biog>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=BzErDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books “Robert Stephenson – The Eminent Engineer” edited by Michael R. Bailey; page 155-57] Retrieved on 5 May 2020</ref>.* 1847-48. The subsequent recession removed the financial incentive for railways in India but the GIPR scheme continued but only through the involvement of the ’East India Company’ which guaranteed a minimum of 5% dividend , however only a 35 mile route between Bombay and Kalyan was authorised <ref name=biog/>.*1849, at . At the urging of the Governor, Lord Dalhousie, the East Indian Company(EIC) sanctioned the construction of a broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) railway eastward from [[Bombay]] and the Great ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company ‘ was incorporated on August 1, 1849 by an act of the British Parliament. It had a share capital of 50,000 pounds. On August 17, 1849 it entered into a formal contract with the EIC for the construction and operation of an experimental line, 35 miles(56 km) long. The Court of Directors of the EIC appointed [[James John Berkley]] as Chief Resident Engineer and [[Charles Buchanan Ker]] and [[Robert W Graham]] as his assistants <ref name=GIPR>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Great_Indian_Peninsula_Railway Grace's Guide Gide "Great Indian Peninsula Railwaywhich quotes from 'Morning Post' - Saturday 18 August 1849""]; Retrieved on 5 May 2020</ref>.* 1850. [[Robert Stephenson |Stephenson ]] provided the directors with cost estimates and recommended [[James John Berkley]] as Chief Engineer to supervise the building of the line. The Court of Directors of the [[East India Company]] appointed [[James John Berkeley]] as Chief Resident Engineer with [[Charles Buchanan Ker]] and [[Robert W Graham]] as his assistants <ref name=GIPR/>*1850. A Tender was submitted for the first railway contract in Western India, from Bombay to Tanna, by [[William Frederick Faviell]] and Henry Fowler. The Tender was accepted by the ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company’<ref name=Faviell>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/William_Frederick_Faviell 'Grace's Guide' - "William Frederick Faviell"] Retrieved on 3 Jul 20165 May 2020</ref>. *1851-53. [[William Frederick Faviell|Faviell]] and Fowler actively prosecuted the work, Fowler’s health failed after a few months’ exposure to the climate of India, and compelled his return to England. The execution of the contract then devolved entirely upon Faviell, and was completed to the satisfaction of the Company, the line being opened for traffic on the 16th April, 1853. That was the first line of railway opened for public traffic in India, and in its construction the first locomotive engine used in Asia was introduced on the 23rd February, 1852, for ballasting the line near Bombay <ref name=Faviell/>.*1859. [[George Berkley]] succeeded [[Robert Stephenson]] as GIPR Consultant Engineer based in London. Previously Assistant and had been liaising with his brother [[James John Berkley]], Chief Resident Engineer.