Indian Midland Railway

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Indian Midland Railway
[[Image:|150px| ]]
Line of route
Bhopal to Cawnpore
Bina to Katni
Jhansi to Agra
Jhansi to Manikpur
Ait to Kunch (branch)
Gauge / mileage
Broad gauge 807 miles
Timeline
1885 Company formed
1889 Lines from Jhansi to Gwalior, Kanpur, Manikpur, and Bhopal opened for traffic
Key locations
Presidency Bengal
Stations Agra, Banda, Bhopal, Cawnpore, Dholpur, Jhansi, Saugor
System agency
State line worked by GIPR
How to interpret this infobox

The Indian Midland Railway Company (IMR) was a state agency formed in 1885 to undertake the working of several existing broad gauge(BG) lines, and the construction and working of further BG lines centred on Jhansi.

The record of March 1885 states “An agreement was come to with the promoters of the Bhopal, Gwalior, and Cawnpore Railways (605 miles) in February last, as to the general terms on which a Company, to be called the Indian Midland Railway Company, was to be formed for undertaking the line in question, and a contract embodying in legal form the necessary provisions is now under consideration. The agreement is similar to that made with the Southern Mahratta Railway Company, with the modification suggested by the recent Select Committee on Indian Railways, and provides for the grant of interest at 3½ per cent on an estimated capital of £5,000,000, with one-fourth of the net earnings besides. For the first seven years, the Government also guarantee that the Company shall receive not less than 4 per cent interest per annum. [1].

The IMR had a comparatively brief existence before being amalgamated in 1900 with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway(GIPR).

Indian Midland Railway

History

The following information is generally based on ‘The Administration Report for Railways, 1918’”[2].

Note A:- These two sections, described in some documents as the ‘Agra-Gwalior Railway’, completed 1881; Indian State line, owned by Gwallior Durbar, known as Scindia State Railway.

  • 1886-88 ‘Jhansi- Cawnpore Section’ , was under construction when the IMR was formed. ; from Jhansi to Cawnpore, 1886-88, 136 miles(219km); later known as the ‘Cawnpore Branch’- see Note B

Note B:- Early records describe part of this as the ‘Jhansi-Konch-Kalpi Railway’. In fact the line, when constructed, ran from Jhansi to Kalpi on onward to Cawnpore. Konch was only connected in 1903 by the GIPR ‘Ait-Kunch Branch Railway’.

Lines worked and developed by IMR

Records

Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library

An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway [4] gives many references. The most important being:-

  • L/F/5/126 “Indian Midland Railway Co.; Copies of agreements with the Secretary of State etc; 1885-1903”
  • L/AG/46/14 “Records of the Indian Midland Railway Company; 1882-1911”
  • L /AG/46/32 “Records of the India Office relating to the Indian Midland Railway Company; 1885-1911”
  • L/F/8/13/915/1 “Indian Midland Railway, Preliminary agreement Secretary of State; 1885”

Unfortunately, there are no IMR Staff appointments held in the India Office Records at the British Library.

Personnel

The following found from various sources – see individual pages:-

Further Information

See Great Indian Peninsula Railway
and GIPR Lines Owned and Worked
also GIPR Midland Division

References