CLASSES OF INDIAN RAILWAYS. 547 guaran Bengal Railway, traversing the richest portion of the Gangetic The eight valley, and connected with the Northern Bengal State Railway. great lines (3) The Great Indian Peninsula, which starts from Bombay, teed. and sends one arm north-east to Jabalpur, with a branch to Nágpur, and another south-east to the frontier of Madras. (4) The Madras line, with its terminus at Madras city, and two arms running respectively to the Great Indian Peninsula junction at Raichur and to Beypur on the opposite coast, with branches to Bangalore and Bellary. (5) The Oudh and Rohilkhand, with its numerous branches, connecting Lucknow with Cawnpur, Benares, Alígarh, Moradábád, Bareli, Saháranpur, and Hardwár. (6) The Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, which runs due north from Bombay through the fertile plain of Gujarát, to Ahmadábád, where it joins the RájputánaMálwá State Railway, and ultimately connects with the East India and Sind, Punjab, and Delhi systems at Delhi and at Agra. (7) The Sind, Punjab, and Delhi, consisting of three sections, one in Lower Sind, another from Delhi to Lahore, and the third from Lahore to Múltán. (8) The South Indian (the only guaranteed line on the narrow gauge), in the extreme south, from Tinnevelli to Madras city, with branches to Arconum, Erode, Negapatam, Tuticorin, and Pondicherri. The State lines are too numerous to be individually described. The State They include the extension from Lahore to Peshawar on the railways. north-west frontier; the 'missing link,' from Múltán to Haidarábád, thus bringing the Punjab into direct connection with its natural seaport at Karáchi (opened throughout in 1878); the Rajputána-Málwá State Railway connecting Ahmadábád with Delhi, Agra, and Khándwá; and the Northern Bengal State Railway. The last-named line starts from Sára-ghát opposite the Damuk diha station of the Eastern Bengal Railway, whence it runs northwards to the foot of the Himalayas. A small 2 feet gauge railway is thence carried up to the sanitarium of Darjiling, now within twenty-four hours' journey of Calcutta. Among other State lines, the following may be specified. The Tirhút State Railway with its various branches intersects Northern Behar, and is intended to extend to the Nepál frontier on one side, and to Assam on the other. The Dacca and Maimansingh Railway will open out Eastern Bengal; the Nagpur Chhatisgarh Railway taps the great wheat-growing Districts of the Central Provinces. Shorter State lines or branches from the trunk railways are numerous. In British Burma, a State line runs up the Irawadi valley from Rangoon to Prome, with an extension to the frontier station of Assisted railways. The 'assisted' system. Native railways. Allan-myo. A second line up the Sittaung valley to Taungngu, is open for more than half its length, and the remainder is expected to be opened in 1886. Of the assisted railway companies, the principal are the Bengal and North-Western, running from the Sonpur station of the East Indian Railway to Bahraich in Oudh; the Bengal Central line from Calcutta to Khúlná bordering on the Sundarbans; the various branches of the Southern Maráthá Railway in the Deccan, of which 214 miles out of a sanctioned length of 718 miles were open in March 1885; the Rohilkhand and Kumáun line; the Assam line to the recently-opened coal measures in Lakhimpur District; the little 2 feet gauge Dárjiling-Himálayan Railway (above mentioned); two short lines from the East Indian Railway to the shrine of Tarakeswar in Húgli District, and to Deogarh in the Santál Parganás, which are annually resorted to by large numbers of pilgrims from all parts of India. Other lines belonging to the assisted class are projected or have commenced construction. It is proposed to make on this system the Nágpur-Bengal line, which will connect the Chhatisgarh wheat plateau with the Húglí river, and thus complete an almost straight line of communication between Calcutta and Bombay. The BhopalGwalior line will also be made on the assisted system; together with other lines belonging to the inner circle of communication in the interior of India. The principle adopted in the assisted system is for Government to guarantee a low rate of interest, or to give a guarantee for a limited period. The Company has therefore the keenest inducement to make the railway pay, as its profits, above the low guaranteed rate, depend on its own exertions, and on the economical working of the line. The Government recoups itself for the money advanced under the low guarantee before the line has begun to pay, by taking a share of the profits of the line when they exceed the guaranteed interest. This is the general principle of the assisted railways in India. But it is worked out differently in the case of almost every separate line; especially as regards the rate of interest guaranteed, and the duration or limits of the guarantee. Besides these there are 663 miles of railway now (1885) opened in Native States, which have been constructed at the expense of the chiefs. The principal of these are the Baroda Railway, and the Bhaunagar-Gondal Railway in Western India, the Bhopal-Itársi line in Central India, the Jodhpur line in RAILWAY STATISTICS, 1878-85. 549 Rájputána, the Nizám's Railway in Haidarábád, the Mysore Railway in Southern India, and the Rájpura-Patiála line in the Punjab. The railways passing through the States of Gwalior and Holkar are not included in this list, as they were constructed, not at the cost of the chiefs themselves, but out of the proceeds of a loan made to the Government by the Mahárájás Sindhia and Holkar, and are worked entirely by Government in connection with the Rájputána-Málwá Railway. 1878 and The two following paragraphs exhibit the railway statistics Railway of India for the years 1878 and 1885. They indicate the statistics, progress which has been made during the seven years, since 1885; the materials for the first edition of this book were compiled. In 1878, the total mileage open for traffic was 8215 miles, of 1878; which 6044 miles belonged to guaranteed railways, and 2171 miles to State railways; total capital expended, £115,059,434, being £95,430,863 on the former, and £19,628,591 on the latter class; number of passengers conveyed, 38,519,792; number of tons of goods and minerals, 8,171,617; number of live stock, 594,249; gross receipts, £10,404,753; gross expenses, £5,206,938; net earnings, £5,197,815, of which only £195,787 is credited to the State railways; percentage of gross expenses to gross receipts, 50'04, varying from 34'97 in the case of the East Indian main line to an average of 78 27 for all the State lines. These figures showed I mile of railway to every 109 square miles of area in 1878, as compared with the area of British India, or to 180 square miles, as compared with the area of the entire peninsula. The average cost of construction per mile was almost exactly £14,000. The guaranteed railways, embracing the great trunk lines throughout India, are on the broad gauge' of 5 feet 6 inches; the State lines follow, as a rule, the narrow or metre gauge of 3 281 feet. On 31st March 1879, the total 1879. length opened was 8545 miles; and the capital invested, 120 millions sterling. 6 The total extent of railways open for traffic in India on Railway the 31st March 1885 was 12,004 miles, of which 6906 statistics, 1885. miles were in the hands of companies, either guaranteed or assisted; 4434 miles were State lines, either Imperial or Provincial; and 664 miles belonged to Native States. On the same date, the extent of railway line under construction was 3555 miles, of which 963 miles were in the hands of companies, 2125 miles were under construction by the State, and 467 miles by Native States. The capital outlay on railways and connected steamer services Railway capital. Railway finance, 1884. Roads. (exclusive of the Rohilkhand-Kumáun and Bareilly - Pilibhit lines), amounted on 31st December 1884 to £155,450,366. Of this sum, £105,319,144 was expended by guaranteed companies (inclusive of the cost of the East Indian Railway, which stands at £35,065,667); £42,924,898 on State railways (Imperial and Provincial); £3,423,259 cn assisted companies' lines; and £3,783,065 on Native State lines. The gross receipts during the calendar year 1884 amounted to £16,066,225, and the working expenses to £8,156,157. The net revenue amounted to £7,910,068, or 5'09 per cent. on the total capital expended up to the 31st December 1884. Of the net revenue, the East Indian Railway, including the State branches worked by the Company, contributed £2,796,414; the guaranteed lines, £3,397,183; State lines, Imperial and Provincial, £1,609,156; and lines in Native States, £114,812. The total number of passengers carried was 73,815,119, the receipts amounting to £5,070,754 The aggregate tonnage of goods and merchandise carried was 16,663,007 tons, the receipts from goods traffic, etc., amounting to £10,565,941. As the railway system of India approaches its completion, the relative importance of the roads naturally diminishes. From a military point of view, rapid communication by rail Old mili- has now superseded the old marching routes as completely as in tary routes. any European country. Like Portsmouth in England, Bombay in India has become the national harbour for the embarkation and disembarkation of troops. On landing at Bombay, regiments proceed, after a rest, to the healthy station of Deolálí on the plateau of the Deccan, whence they can reach their ultimate destinations, however remote, by easy railway stages. The Bombay inland route. The Grand Trunk Road, running up the entire valley of the Ganges from Calcutta to the north-west frontier, first planned as a highway of armies in the 16th century by the Afghán Emperor Sher Shah, and brought to completion under the administration of Lord William Bentinck, is now for the most part untrodden by troops. The monument, erected to commemorate the opening of the military road up the Bhor Ghát to wheeled traffic from Bombay, remains unvisited by all but the most curious travellers. Railways have bridged the widest rivers and the most formidable swamps. They have scaled, with their aerial zigzags, the barrier range of the Ghats; and they have been carried on massive embankments over the shifting soil of the Gangetic delta. But although the railway system now occupies the first place, both for military and commercial purposes, the actual importance of roads has increased rather than diminished. They Extension do not figure in the imperial balance-sheet, nor do they strike of roads the popular imagination; but their construction and repair constitute one of the most important duties of the District official. They promote that regularity of local communication. upon which the progress of civilisation so largely depends. The substitution of the post-cart for the naked runner, and of wheeled traffic for the pack-bullock, is one of the silent revolutions effected by British rule. metal. boats. The more important roads are all carefully metalled, the Road material almost everywhere employed being kankar or calcareous limestone. In Lower Bengal and other deltaic tracts, where no kind of stone exists, bricks are roughly burnt, and then broken up to supply metal for the roads. The minor streams are crossed by permanent bridges, with foundations of stone, and not unfrequently iron girders. The larger rivers Bridges of have temporary bridges of boats thrown across them during the dry season, which give place to ferries in time of flood. Avenues of trees along the roads afford shade, and material for timber. The main lines are under the charge of the Public Works Department. The maintenance of the minor roads has, by a recent administrative reform, been thrown upon the shoulders of the local authorities, who depend for their pecuniary resources upon District committees, and are often compelled to act as their own engineers. Complete statistics are not available to show the total mileage of roads in British India, or the total sum expended on their maintenance. Inland navigation is almost confined to the four great rivers, Rivers. the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Indus, and the Irawadi. These flow through broad valleys, and from time immemorial have been the chief means of conveying the produce of the interior to the sea. South of the Gangetic basin, there is not a single Indian river which can be called navigable. Most of the South Indian streams, although mighty torrents in the rainy season, dwindle away to mere threads of water and stagnant pools during the rest of the year. The Godávari and the The GodáNarbadá, whose volume of water is ample, are both obstructed by rocky rapids, which engineering skill has hitherto been unable to overcome. A total sum of 1 million sterling has been almost in vain expended upon the former river, with a view to improving it as a navigable highway. It is doubtful vari works. |