First train in India — Mumbai to Thane

ot the upper one where you hit your head every time you sit up, not the lower one where every aunty wants to park her luggage-but the awkward, halfway-up, halfway-down berth that neither promises sleep nor space. It was on one of my earliest train overnight journeys between Delhi and Jalandhar that I learned what a train truly is — not a mode of travel but a mobile ecosystem. A place where you meet snoring strangers, share tiffin with toddlers and wake up to ‘chaiwalas’ sing-song ‘chai-chai, kaafi-kaafi’.

There’s something disarmingly democratic about Indian trains. No matter who you are, the moment that engine rumbles into the platform and your slippers touch the coach, you are part of a strange, moving family. And in that experience, there is a story being written-of people, places, patience and time.

This intimate story with Indian Railways began 173 years ago, on a sultry April afternoon, when 14 carriages stood shining at Bori Bunder station in Bombay. On April 16, 1853, at 3.30 pm, the first passenger train in India thundered to life, carrying 400 distinguished guests-and with them, the dreams of a nation about to be stitched together by steel.

The first train ride in India may have set in motion with 34 km from Bori Bunder (now Mumbai) to Thane, but its significance echoed far beyond the distance it covered. The train, powered by three engines, was named after regions and countries far and wide-Sahib, Sultan and Sindh. These locomotives, though relatively small by today’s standards, were the harbingers of change. The train left the station to the sound of 21 gun salutes, a grand salute that marked the birth of Indian Railways. As the carriages clattered and rolled, it was a celebration of what was to come: a railway network that would eventually span the length and breadth of the country, from the shores of the east to the farthest north and south.

Over the years, the Railways has grown from this humble beginning into one of the largest and most intricate rail systems in the world. Today, it is the fourth-largest network, connecting millions of people daily and handling the transportation of vast amounts of goods. The system is the lifeblood of the economy, facilitating everything from long-distance travel to the movement of commodities.

The Railways has advanced to high-speed trains, AC coaches, executive classes and state-of-the-art amenities. However, despite the modern luxuries, the essence of rail travel remains the same-the communal experience. Whether you are in an executive class or a standard coach, the stories that unfold are similar: of shared experiences, fleeting conversations and collective anticipation of reaching the next destination.

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