Indian Railways turns 162

New Delhi, Apr 16: Indian Railways, the lifeline of the country and perhaps its most preferred mode of transport, on Friday completed 162 years in the service of the nation.

It was on this day in 1853, that the country's first passenger train operated between Bombay and Thane, marking the birth of the railways. [History of Indian Railways in years]

Built by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR), the train was drawn by three engines named -- Sahib, Sindh and Sultan -- and covered the distance of 21 miles in 57 minutes. [Indian Railways in numbers]

The Ministry of Railways marked the occasion today on social media by sharing old, historic and nostalgic photographs, saying -- "162 years of Indian Railways!"

The photographs include one of the rare picture of a viaduct between Bomabay and Thane taken during the 1850s, a gate man standing at a level-crossing watching a steam engine puff out in front of him, a Bombay Baroda and Central India (BB & CI) railways train and a coloured image of a stationed freight express hauled by a diesel locomotive hauling at Nangloi.

The other posts shared more recent achievements of the railways, one of the largest networks in the world and one of the biggest employers.

Operated during the colonial time by private-run companies, the firms were amalgamated after Independence into one nationalised entity, Indian Railways.

PTI