Great Indian Peninsula Railway: The Routes

Note: This is a sub-section of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway

Mumbai to Kalyan

• 1853 April 16th. Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to Thane (formerly Tannah) opened
• 1854 May 1st. Thane to Kalyan (formerly Callian) opened. The construction involved a two-line viaduct over the Thane estuary and two tunnels.

At Kalyan the route split with one branch to Pune and beyond and the other to Bhosawal (Bhusawal) and beyond

Kalyan to Pune and beyond

• 1856 May 12th Kalyan to Khopoli (formerly Campoolie) via Palasdhari (formerly Padusdhurree) opened
• 1858 June 14th. Khandala to Pune (formerly Poonah) section opened.
• 1863 April 21st. Khapoli to Khandala opened. This section involved the difficult crossing of the Bhore Ghat (Bhor Ghat). While the line was being built the 21 km gap was covered by palanquin, pony or cart between the two rail sections.
• The south-east main line continued to Poonah, Sholapore (Solapur) and Raichore (Raichur), where it joined the Madras Railway in 1871.

Kalyan to Bhosawal and beyond

1861 January 1st. The Kassarah (Kasara) line, at the foot of the Thal Ghats, was opened

1865 January 1st. The steep Thull Ghat (Thal Ghat) section up to Egutpoora (Igatpuri) was opened and completed the crossing of the Sahyadri. The Kasara to Igatpuri section was 9.5 miles (15km) and within that distance the line had to rise to 1,918 feet (585m). The construction required 13 tunnels, 6 viaducts, including the Ehagaon Viaduct; cuttings; embankments; 15 bridges and culverts and the Reversing Station

At Bhosawal, the line divided to Nagpur and Jabalpur.

One line passed through great cotton district of Oomravuttee (present day Amravati) and was extended up to Nagpore (present day Nagpur). The other was extended up to Jubbulpore (present day Jabalpur) to connect with the Allahabad-Jubbulpore branch line of the East Indian Railway which had been opened in June 1867.

Nagpur line

• 1867 February 10th. Nagpur terminal reached, some 519 miles from Bombay.

Jabalpur line

• 1870 March 7th. Connected with the East Indian Railway via Khundwa and included the Alfred Viaduct

See Also

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