April 16 has a special significance for everybody who has ever ridden a train in the country.
It was at 3.35p.m on April 16, 1853, the first train on Indian tracks began its journey from Thane to Boribunder (now, the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus in Mumbai).
The journey may have been short, spanning only 34 km, but it marked the beginning of Indian Railways, which today, caters to lakhs of passengers on a daily basis.
Over 100 years after the first train chugged along the rails, Indian Railways began celebrating April 10 to 16 as Railway Week.
This year, the 60th Railway Week celebrations took place across the country.
In Chennai, Southern Railway showcased its achievements at a function on Thursday.
Through the week, accomplishments by the various staff members and the divisions are recognised.
Highlighting the achievements of the Southern Railway, Ashok K. Agarwal, general manager of Southern Railway, said they had won three efficiency awards from the Railway Board this year.
“Not only did Southern Railway win the shield for safety and comprehensive healthcare, this year, we also won the station cleanliness shield,” he said, speaking at the function.
Southern Railway had maintained punctuality of 92.5 per cent, last year and achieved nine per cent growth in overall earnings and 5.2 per cent growth in freight earnings and 13.3 per cent in passenger earnings, he said.
Chief Guest S. Dhasarathy of Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers, also former member (mechanical) of Railway Board, traced the origin and history of railways in the world, particularly Indian Railways.
