Indian Railways: First passenger train in India was from Mumbai to Thane
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted this morning to mark the 167th anniversary of the country's first passenger service - a 14-carriage train hauled by three steam locomotives (Sindh, Sultan and Sahib) - that ran from Mumbai to Thane on April 16, 1853. The 21-kilometre journey was covered in around 75 minutes. "Serving the nation since 1853... 167 years ago the first passenger train was flagged off from Mumbai to Thane," Mr Goyal said.
The Indian Railways, which runs one of the largest rail networks in the world and employs lakhs of men and women, is a key component and driver of the Indian economy, transporting Rs 28,032.80 crore worth of goods and earning Rs 12,844.37 crore from passenger fare in the third quarter of 2019/20 alone, according to news agency PTI.
These critical services have been halted, for the first time since they began, for nearly a month now, amid a lockdown to stop the spread of the infectious coronavirus.
"After a long and glorious service, for the first time, operations have paused for safety of nation. I thank people for cooperating amid the pandemic. We will emerge victorious," the Railways Minister tweeted.
Under the terms of the nationwide lockdown, ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month and extended by two weeks on Tuesday, all passenger services have been shut.
The earlier lockdown had been in force till April 14 and the Railways had begun accepting bookings for journeys starting April 15. These fares will now be refunded in full; this will lead to a revenue loss of around Rs 1,490 crore.
Indian Railways will, however, run special parcel trains on selected routes to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items during lockdown.
"Transportation of essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment, food, etc., in small sizes is going to be very important during the lockdown. In order to fill this vital need, Indian Railways mas made railway parcel vans available for quick mass transportation by e-commerce entities and other customers, including state governments," a press release said.
According to the Railways these trains will run between major cities and will also connect remote areas of the country, such as the northeast.
Apart from working to ensure supply of essential goods and medical equipment, the Railways has also been working to produce coveralls for healthcare workers treating COVID-19 cases across the country.
This week the Railways said it would produce over 30,000 units in April alone and had plans to manufacture 1 lakh more by May. The Railways has also produced around 40,000 litres of hand sanitiser and around six lakh face masks.
The novel coronavirus, so named because it is a virus not previously known in humans, has infected over 10,000 across the country so far and been linked to 414 deaths. Worldwide over 20 lakh have been infected and more than 1.3 lakh killed.