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Madras Railway

Beyer Peacock - Madras Railway No 425
Beyer Peacock - Madras Railway No 425 Image: Wikimedia Commons. James Mudd (1821 - 1906) / Public domain

Overview

The Madras Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies established in British India during the mid-nineteenth century. Headquartered in the Madras Presidency, it was responsible for constructing and operating an extensive network across southern and central India, eventually linking the eastern coast at Madras with the western coast at Beypore and, later, with Bombay through connecting lines.

Key facts

Name Madras Railway
Type Railway company (guaranteed company under the East India Company and later the Crown)
Country British India
Headquarters Madras (Chennai), Madras Presidency
Founded 1845 (incorporated in London)
First line opened 1856, between Royapuram (Madras) and Wallajah Road (Arcot)
Successor Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway (from 1908)
Status Defunct

Background

The Madras Railway Company was promoted in London in the 1840s, at a time when the East India Company was encouraging private British capital to build railways in India under a "guarantee system" that assured investors a fixed rate of return. Along with the East Indian Railway and the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, it was among the earliest of these guaranteed companies.

The company's principal mandate was to connect the port of Madras with the interior of the Madras Presidency and, eventually, with the western coast, opening up the agricultural and trading hinterland of peninsular India to maritime commerce.

History and chronology

  • 1845: The Madras Railway Company was incorporated in London.
  • 1852–1853: The company was reconstituted, and surveys for the trunk lines were undertaken.
  • 1 July 1856: The first section, from Royapuram in Madras to Wallajah Road near Arcot, was opened to traffic. Royapuram station became the first major railway terminus in southern India.
  • 1861: The line was extended westward, reaching Beypore on the Malabar Coast, thereby creating a coast-to-coast link across the southern peninsula.
  • 1860s–1870s: Branches were extended to Bangalore, Bellary, Coimbatore, and other interior centres. The line was eventually connected with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, completing a Madras–Bombay route.
  • 1871: The Madras Railway's main station functions began shifting from Royapuram to Madras Central, which subsequently became the principal terminus.
  • 1907: The Government of India did not renew the Madras Railway Company's contract, and the State took over the lines.
  • 1 January 1908: The Madras Railway was amalgamated with the Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway (M&SMR).

Network and gauge

The Madras Railway was built primarily on the 5 ft 6 in broad gauge, the standard adopted for trunk routes in India under the recommendations of Lord Dalhousie. At its peak, the company operated trunk lines running west from Madras across the Deccan to the Malabar Coast, north-westwards towards Bombay via Raichur, and southwards into the interior of the presidency. Important junctions on its system included Arconum (Arakkonam), Jolarpet, Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, and Podanur.

Significance

The Madras Railway was central to the economic integration of southern India during the colonial era. It facilitated the movement of cotton, coffee, tea, timber, and grain from the Deccan and Malabar regions to the port of Madras, and carried passengers between the major cities of the south. Its trans-peninsular line was the first such east–west connection in India, and many of its alignments remain in use today as part of the Southern Railway and South Western Railway zones of Indian Railways.

The company's legacy survives in stations such as Royapuram, the oldest surviving railway terminus in India still in operation, and in the colonial-era railway architecture and workshops at Perambur, which became a major centre for rolling-stock maintenance.

References