Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway

The first section of the railway was the Ankleshwar - Amroli line (in present-day Gujarat). The first train on this section ran on 10 February 1860. The line was extended to Bulsar by 1862 and to Grant Road by 1864. This was an important milestone, as the BB&CI had now reached the port city of Bombay. The first train ran between Grant Road and Surat on 28 November 1864, and the Times of India gave a detailed report in the following day's issue. This inaugural train had thirty coaches, consisting of first, second, and third-class accommodation. The last two classes were in much higher demand, and in few passengers travelled First Class. The station at Grant Road was more lavish than the GIP Railway's Bori Bunder Terminus and had a platform comparable in width to the latter station. Some of the Third Class coaches were double-deckers, which gave space for travellers to lie behind seated passengers, with some degree of comfort. These coaches were built at Amroli in about 1863. A 'sloping shade' blocked the heat of the sun while still allowing ventilation. The first suburban train service began on 1 November 1865, between Grant Road and Bassein Road (today's Vasai Road). Soon after, the platforms of stations between the two local termini were lengthened to 500 yards (about 450 m). The line was extended to Bombay Backbay Station in 1866. Three suburban services ran from the station. Ballast trains from Santacruz, carried earth for the reclamation scheme at Bombay Backbay which was filling in part of the Backbay, a large body of water at South Bombay's seafront. This plan was cut short after the liquidation of the Backbay Reclamation Company, following the end of the American Civil War. Just enough land had been reclaimed to lay tracks to Colaba, with running alongside. 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. == 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 and Kharagoda. The north-east main line passed through Godhra, Ratlam, Kotah and Bayana (from where a branch line ran to Agra Fort), to Muttra Junction, where it joined the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, 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, Ajmer, Jaipur and Rewari to Delhi. There were branches from Rewari to Bhatinda and Fazilka, from Ajmer 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. == Electrification ==

, New Delhi The Colaba-Borivali section (37.8 km) was electrified on 5 January 1928 on the 1.5 kV DC system. The two tracks between Colaba and Grant Road and four tracks between Grant Road and Bandra railway stations were electrified. Only two suburban tracks between Bandra and Borivali were electrified in 1928, while two main tracks were left for steam locomotives. In 1933, Colaba railway station and two electrified tracks between Colaba and Churchgate railway stations 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-Virar section. == 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 were 7272 goods wagons. 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 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 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, Rajputana Railway, Jaipur State Railway and Cutch State Railway to give rise to the Western Railway. == Gandhi film ==

The railway is featured in many travel scenes in the 1982 film Gandhi which tells the story of the leader of India's independence movement, Gandhi played by the actor Ben Kingsley. == See also ==