From Steam to LNG, Indian Railways' big leap

It was on a hot sultry afternoon in April 1853, that a train with 14 coaches and hauled by three engines (Sindh, Sahib and Sultan) pulled out of the Boribunder Station (modern-day CST) to go to Thana. As the train moved out with some 400 odd passengers, there was much excitement and celebration, even a 21-gun salute marked the occasion. The distance of some 34 kms was covered in 1 hour and 15 minutes. With that maiden run by the Great Indian Peninsula (GIP) Railways, trains had finally arrived in India.

The first steam locomotives of India were driven by coal and had to be imported from England. For instance, the locomotives of the first train that ran between Bombay and Thana, were crafted at the Vulcan Foundry in England. As the train network expanded rapidly post the first run in 1853, the primary drivers were business and military considerations. Since, there was much raw material that could be sourced from India (primarily cotton) and shipped to England, the three major ports, namely, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras became the hub from where different rail companies emanated.At the turn of the 20th century, locomotives were being manufactured in India, and the British government took over the functioning of the railways. From 1920s onwards, there was also a rapid expansion on the connectivity front, with the tracks running some 66,000 kms across the length and breadth of India. While steam locomotives were the primary workhorses, electric ones were also being tested. The first-ever electric train in India ran between Victoria Terminus and Kurla, a distance of 16 kms, on February 3, 1925.

Post-Independence in 1947, the Indian government took keen interest in the expansion and development of railways. On January 26, 1950, an indigenous locomotive workshop was set up in West Bengal for Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). Over the years, CLW, along with Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi, became one of the biggest manufacturers of locomotives in the world.

It was in 1957, when the first Diesel Electric Locomotive (WDM-1) arrived in India. The locomotive was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (Alco). Subsequently, it became the prototype for other locomotives, especially the WDM-2 that was the workhorse of Indian Railways. For the next few decades, diesel locomotives steadily gained ascendancy over steam locomotives. It was in 1970 that the last steam locomotive (of the 3000) was manufactured by CLW. It was named Anthim Sitara - or the last star and by 1990s, all the steam locomotives were phased out.