Railway Line Opened From Bombay to Callian (Kalyan) on 1st May 1854

After the first Bombay-Thane railway line, one more significant day of the Mumbai railway was added when the railway line was opened from Bombay to Callian (Kalyan) on 1st May 1854.

The first railway line in Asia was built between Bombay (Mumbai) and Tannah (Thane) on 16th April 1853. As an extension to this route, planning for the railway line till Calian (Kalyan) was underway.

Before starting the Kalyan railway project, a detailed survey was done and two routes were finalised. The first route was the Bhor Ghat till Poonah (Pune) and the other from Thal Ghat to Igatpuri and Bhusaval.

For the construction of the railway line from Thane to Kalyan, there were two major obstacles. One was to bridge the Thane Creek and the other was to make a way out through the mountain near Kalwa.

Overcoming the obstacles, the magnificent bridge of twenty-two stone arches was built (shown in the above picture source: Central Railway) by the railway engineers headed by J.J. Berkely. Later the most difficult task of constructing the two tunnels across the mountain near Kalwa was constructed at a cost of Rs 84,000 per mile.

First Train Journey Experience
The first train to Kalyan was scheduled at 04:50 pm in which Lord Elphinstone, the Governor of Bombay was accompanied with other 250 guests. The train reached Kalyan at 06:10 pm after halting at Bhandup for a few minutes for filling water.

The train arrived at the Creek ground instead of Kalyan station which was far away. There was the arrangement of bands, decorative tents and arrangement of dinner. The crowd too was enjoying the event. The celebration was concluded with some fireworks. The train left from Kalyan at 9 pm and returned to Boree Bunder at 11 pm.

Further Development extension to Kalyan railway line:

• On May 12, 1856 the line was extended to Campoolie (Khopoli) via Padusdhurree (Palasdhari)
• On June 14, 1858 Khandala-Poonah (present-day Pune) section was opened to traffic. The Padusdhurree-Khandala section involved the difficult crossing of the Bhore Ghat (present-day Bhor Ghat) and it took another five years for completion. During this period, the 21 km gap was covered by palanquin, pony or cart through the village of Campoolie.
• On January 1, 1861, the Kassarah (Kasara) line was opened and the steep Thull ghat (Thal Ghat) section up to Egutpoora (Igatpuri) was opened on January 1, 1865 and thus completed the crossing of the Sahyadri.

The above information is an excerpt from the book “Mumbai: The City of Dreams” by Dr. M.D. Dravid and CR Indian Railways.