First railway line 1853
Also called: Bombay-Thane railway · Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
India's first passenger train ran on 16 April 1853 from Bori Bunder in Bombay to Thane, a distance of about 34 km. It happened while Lord Dalhousie was Governor-General. It started the railway age in India. Lines then spread from the port cities into the interior, mainly to serve British trade and military needs.
Example
The Bombay–Thane line was built by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway company. Its lines were later carried over the Western Ghats into the Deccan, linking cotton-growing areas to the port of Bombay.
Don't confuse with
- First cotton mill, Bombay 1854: this is a separate milestone from the very next year. It began modern factory industry in India, not the railways.
Related concepts
- Drain of wealth
- William Digby
- Dadabhai Naoroji
- Poverty and Un-British Rule in India
- Romesh Chunder Dutt
- Economic History of India
- Home charges
- Colonial railways
- Great Indian Peninsula Railway
- Guaranteed interest system