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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 3, p. 365.

CHAPTER VII RAILWAYS AND ROADS Railways RAILWAYS had been working in England for several years Introduc- before any steps were taken to construct them in India, and tory. it was not until I845 that the first reference was made on the subject by the Court of Directors. In that year applications received by the Court from private parties for co-operation in opening railways on an extensive scale in different parts of India were sent to the Governor-General for report, with the opinion that the enterprise would only be profitable where proportionately large returns could be obtained to meet the great expense of construction and working. The Court con- sidered that, independently of the difficulties common to rail- ways in all countries, India would present special and peculiar obstacles, such as floods, storms, damage by insects and by the luxuriant tropical vegetation, and the difficulty and expense of securing the services of competent engineers. So doubtful were they of the feasibility of the proposals that they recom- mended that the first attempt should be made on a limited scale. As a result of this reference, contracts for the construction Early of experimental lines were entered into with the East Indian lines pro- Railway Company, for a line from Calcutta (Howrah) to Raniganj (I20 miles); with the Great Indian Peninsula Rail- way Company, for a line from Bombay to Kalyan (33 miles); and with the Madras Railway Company, for a line from Madras to Arkonam (39 miles). Later, the Directors began to realize that, without the material appliances which facilitate and cheapen the means of communication and production, there could be no rapid pro- gress in the country either morally or materially, or in the efficiency of the administration; and they expressed the wish that India should, without unnecessary loss of time, possess the immense advantage of a regular system of railway com- munication.