when was the first railway track built in india
History of rail transport in India The first proposals for railways in India were made in Madras in 1832.[1] The first train in India ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837, and was called Red Hill Railway. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine locomotive manufactured by William Avery. Built by Sir Arthur Cotton, it was primarily used for transporting granite stones for road building work in Madras.[1] In 1845, a railway was built at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry called Godavari Dam Construction Railway. It was also built by Arthur Cotton and was used to supply stones for construction of a dam over Godavari.[1] On 8 May 1845, Madras Railway was incorporated. In the same year, the East India Railway company was incorporated. On 1 August 1849, Great Indian Peninsular Railway was incorporated by an Act of Parliament. The "Guarantee System", providing free land and guaranteed rates of return (5%) to the private English companies willing to work on building railways, was finalized on 17 August 1849. In 1851, a railway called Solani Aqueduct Railway was built in Roorkee. It was hauled by steam locomotive Thomason, named after a British officer in-charge of same name. It was used for transporting construction materials for building of aqueduct over Solani river.[1] In 1852, the "Madras Guaranteed Railway Company" was incorporated.