The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (

reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...

BB&CI) was a company incorporated in 1855 to undertake the task of constructing railway lines between

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

to the erstwhile Baroda State, that became the present-day

Baroda (Vadodara) Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

city in

western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union ...

. BB&CI completed the work in 1864. The first suburban railway in India was started by BB&CI, operating between

Virar Virar (Pronunciation: �iɾaɾ is a coastal city in taluka Vasai and district of Palghar, India. It is clubbed into Vasai-Virar city, administered by Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. It lies in south part of Palghar District in Vasai Talu ...

and Churchgate (later extended to Colaba), a railway station in Bombay Backbay in April 1867. The railway was divided into two main systems, broad (5 ft. 6 in.) and metre gauge. There was also a comparatively small mileage of 2 ft. 6 in. gauge line worked by the BB&CI on behalf of the Indian States. In 1947 the mileage of the respective portions was stated to be: broad gauge, 1,198 miles, with a further 69 miles worked for Indian States; metre gauge, 1,879 miles, with a further 106 miles worked for Indian States; narrow-gauge, 152 miles, worked for Indian States and various companies. Quadruple track mileage was 22 and double-track 250, the remainder of the system being single-track, whilst running powers were exercised over 147 miles (including the important section from Muttra Junction to Delhi, owned by the

Great Indian Peninsular Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway ( reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Term ...

). The main headquarters of the BB&CI Railway was located at Churchgate, Bombay and the headquarters and workshops for the metre gauge tracks and services was located in

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

Description of systems

The broad-gauge main line ran northwards from Bombay to Baroda, where it bifurcated, the north-east main line continuing towards Delhi, and the north-west main line to the industrial city of Ahmedabad and onwards to

Viramgam Viramgam is a town and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. The town is located in the Ahmedabad district, which contains the city of Ahmedabad, the state's largest city. Gateway Distriparks notably flagged off the first export ...

and Kharagoda. The north-east main line passed through Godhra, Ratlam, Kotah and Bayana (from where a branch line ran to

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

Fort), to Muttra Junction, where it joined the

, over which it had running powers for 90 miles into Delhi. The metre-gauge system was originally the Rajputana Malwa State Railway. It began at Ahmedabad and ran northwards through Baroda State and Rajputana ''via'' Abu,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and Rewari to Delhi. There were branches from Rewari to Bhatinda and Fazilka, from

to Ratlam, Indore and Khandwa, and from Achnera to Cawnpore.

Organisation

The original Bombay, Baroda & Central India Railway Company was purchased by the Government of India in 1905, but continued to be worked by a company with a board of directors in London until 1 January 1942, on which date the working was taken over by the government and it became part of the Indian State Railway system, directly under the Railway Board.

Construction and opening

The section from Churchgate to Ahmedabad was opened in stages between 1860 and 1870. The original Bombay terminus was at

Grant Road Grant Road (named after Sir Robert Grant, the Governor of Bombay between 1835 and 1839, formally Maulana Shaukatali Road) is a locality in South Mumbai. Grant Road railway station serves this area. Grant Road along with Tardeo and Mumbai Cent ...

, subsequently extended to Churchgate in 1870 and to Colaba, at the southern tip of the island of Bombay, in 1873. After the new Bombay Central station was opened in 1930, the line between Churchgate and Colaba was closed and removed. The section from Godhra to Nagda was opened in 1896 and extended to Baroda. Nagda to Muttra Junction was opened in 1909, making possible through broad-gauge running between Bombay and Delhi. The metre-gauge system was originally the Rajputana Malwa State Railway and was taken over subsequently by the BB&CI. The metre-gauge main line from Delhi to

was completed in 1874, extended to

in 1875 and to Ahmedabad in 1881. The branch from Rewari to Bhatinda and Fazilka was begun in 1881 by the Ferozepore & Rewari Railway, but the section between Bhatinda and Ferozepore was subsequently built to the broad-gauge and passed to the GIPR.

Electrification

The Colaba-

Borivali Borivali (Pronunciation: oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb and is located at the north-western end of Mumbai and has a large Gujarati population followed by others. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali. The attractions incl ...

section (37.8 km) was electrified on 5 January 1928 on the 1.5 kV DC system. The two tracks between Colaba and

stations were electrified, while four tracks between Grant Road and

Bandra railway station Bandra ( /bæːndra/; station code: B for Suburban services and BA for Indian Railways) is a railway station on the Western Line and Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It serves the Bandra suburban area and the commercial are ...

s were electrified. Only two suburban tracks between Bandra and Borivali were electrified in 1928, two main tracks were left for the steam locomotives. In 1933, Colaba railway station and two electrified tracks between Colaba and

Churchgate railway station Churchgate (station code: CCG) is the southern terminus on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is located in Churchgate in South Mumbai, Maharashtra. History Early history The Fort area built by the British had three main gate ...

s were dismantled. In 1936, electrification was extended to the two main tracks between Bandra and Borivali railway stations, left earlier and the two main tracks between Borivali and Virar railway stations were also electrified, resulting in completion of the electrification of the Churchgate-

section.Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.150-1

Locomotives and rolling stock

By the end of 1877 the company owned 77 steam locomotives, 295 coaches and 2,644 goods wagons. At the end of 1910 there where 7272 goods wagon. In 1936 the BB&CI owned 833 locomotives, 43 railcars, 1963 coaches and over 20.000 goods wagons. In 1947, the total numbers of broad-gauge locomotives in service were 363 steam, 10 diesel and 2 electric. There were 1,042 passenger coaches (including 40 electric motor and 120 electric trailer coaches) and 10,584 goods wagons. The equivalent figures for the metre-gauge were 437 locomotives, 1,335 coaches, 3 Sentinel steam coaches, and 9,127 wagons. On the 2 ft. 6 in. gauge there were 20 locomotives, 58 coaches and 259 wagons.

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

Later developments

In 1949, after independence of India,

Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR) or Gaikwad Baroda State Railway was a narrow gauge railway line owned by the Princely State of Baroda, which was ruled by the Gaekwar dynasty. History The railway track has the distinction of being the fir ...

was merged in to Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway by Government of India. On 5 November 1951 the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway was merged with the

Saurashtra Railway Saurashtra Railway came into being in April, 1948 with the amalgamation of state railways like Bhavnagar State Railway, Gondal Railway, Porbandar Railway, Jamnagar & Dwarka Railway, Morvi Railway, Dhrangadhra Railway, Okhamandal State Rail ...

, Rajputana Railway, Jaipur State Railway and

Cutch State Railway Cutch State Railway (CSR) was an isolated narrow gauge railway in Cutch State, one of the princely states allied to Britain in India. History The railway was financed by the Maharao Khengarji Bawa of Cutch State. The laying of first rails st ...

to give rise to the Western Railway.

Gandhi film

The railway is featured in many travel scenes in the 1982 film

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

which tells the

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

of the leader of India's independence movement,

played by the actor

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombay, Baroda And Central India Railway Transport in Mumbai Transport in Vadodara Defunct railway companies of India History of rail transport in Gujarat Rail transport in Maharashtra Railway companies established in 1855 Railway companies disestablished in 1951 1855 establishments in India 1855 establishments in British India 1951 disestablishments in India Indian companies established in 1855