Indian Railways no longer needs any identity. It is the fourth largest railway network in the world and the second largest in Asia. Indian Railways is modernizing its network so much that in the coming time, bullet trains will also be seen running here. A large part of India’s economy also depends on railways. Railways not only connects the entire country together, but also plays an important role in transportation.
You must have read the story of the first train running in the country many times, but do you know when the first goods train ran in the country? The answer is 22 December. Yes, the first goods train in the country was run on this day in 1851. This goods train ran between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar. This area is currently in the state of Uttarakhand.
Where did the engine come from?
The engine for India’s first goods train was imported from England. This was a steam-powered engine. At that time, Thomson, the chief engineer of this important scheme, had made bogies capable of carrying 180 to 200 kg of weight with this engine. That means there were only two bogies in this train. This train was sent to Piran Kaliyar, about 10 kilometers away from Roorkee. This goods train took 38 minutes to cover this distance of 10 kilometers, which means this goods train ran at a speed of 6.44 kilometers per hour.
What was loaded in the first goods train?
The country’s first goods train was used for the Ganga Canal construction project. At that time, during this project, the work of transportation of soil and construction material was to be done, for which this goods train was arranged. In this train, soil and construction material was loaded and sent from Roorkee to Piran Kaliyar. However, this goods train could run only for 9 months. However, if we talk about the present time, a large part of the transportation happening in India depends on goods trains only. This can be understood from the fact that Indian Railways transports more than 10 crore tonnes of goods every year. Goods trains are the source of 70 percent of Railways’ earnings.
Also read: This state of India has the highest number of road accidents, so many people have lost their lives so far