Bhavnagar State Railway (BSR) was a

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

railway line in

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

, now part of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

In November 1878, on the instance of Maharaja Takthasinhji of Bhavnagar State, the

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

Sir Richard Temple Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet (8 March 1826 – 15 March 1902) was a British colonial administrator in 19th-century India, who served as Governor of Bombay from 1877 to 1880. Early life Temple was the son of Richard Temple (1800–1874) and ...

sanctioned the extension of a meter gauge railway line from

Wadhwan Wadhwan, also spelled Vadhwan, is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located on the banks of the Bhogavo River, around 3 km from Surendranagar and 111 km from Ahmedabad, Wadhwan is a kn ...

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

, which was opened on 18 December 1880. Maharaja Takhtasinhji accorded sanction for construction of a railway from Bhavnagar to

in the north and

Dhoraji Dhoraji () is a town situated on the banks of the River Safura, a tributary of the River Bhadar. It is a municipality in the Rajkot district in the state of Gujarat, India. History Dhoraji was acquired by Kumbhaji II of Gondal State from ...

in the west with the line from

Dhasa Dhasa is a small city and railway junction in Botad District of Gujarat. Dhasa with Major Population Of Koli And Nadoda Rajput. Dhasa Known As Home Of BJP Party Almost 30 Years BJP Ruled Dhasa With Village Chief Kalubhai Dayabhai Pavra And Also Ta ...

to Dhoraji funded by

Gondal State Gondal State is one of the eight first class princely states of Kathiawar Agency, Bombay Presidency in India. the capital of the state is Gondal town. History Gondal State is established in 1634 AD by Thakore Shri Kumbhoji I Meramanji, wh ...

. During 1863, Maharaja Jaswantsinhji received a proposal to start a

Narrow Gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

line like in parts of Gaekwad Railway in Baroda. Maharaja was not inclined, as by that time another company called Ghogha Kathiawad Light Railway Company had been formed and it could be easily joined at Vartej, a mere 10 km away. But nothing materialized. The Bhavnagar-Gondal Railway was a joint venture with funds from both states 1839. Bhavnagar contributed Rs. 86 lakhs and Rs.29 lakhs was Gondal's contribution. The Bhavnagar-Wadhwan line had a length of a 166 km; the Dhola-

line had a length of 144 km. The work was carried out between 1878 and 1880. In March 1879, Mr. Alexander Izat was appointed as the Engineer-in-Chief. He was earlier the Chief Engineer of Daund-Manmad line (which had opened in 1878). Mr. R. Proctor Sims who was Bhavnagar's state Engineer had carried out the survey from Bhavnagar to

Botad Botad is a city and district headquarters of Botad district, Gujarat, India. It is about 92 km from Bhavnagar and 133 km From Ahmedabad by road distance. Botad district is made from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. Erstwhile, it was part of ...

. The survey from

was carried out under Mr. Ford who held analogous post in Gondal. An engineer from BB & CI, Mr. Hargreaves did the survey from Botad to

. The earth-work was commenced as a famine work with all possible haste and finished within an astonishingly short time by May 1880. His Highness requested the Governor of Bombay Sir

James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to: Entertainment * Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist * Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member for the Broadca ...

(who had succeeded Sir Richard Temple in March 1879) to inaugurate the line in December and declare it open for traffic. On 17 December 1880 the Governor and his entourage arrived at Bhavnagar by a special steamer from Bombay named May Frere. Many guests, both European and native, were invited. On approach of the May Frere at port of Bhavnagar, Colonel Barton (the political Agent), Major Woodhouse (the Assistant Political Agent) and Diwan Sahib Samaldas went in a steam launch and brought the Governor and his party ashore.

Takhtsinhji Maharaja Raol Sir Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji KIH (6 January 185829 January 1896), was Maharaja of Bhavnagar, a Rajput chief of the Gohil clan, and ruler of Bhavnagar state in Kathiawar. He succeeded to the throne of Bhavnagar upon the death o ...

received the Governor at the landing steps and welcomed him. The Governor was then taken to the town and the evening spent in sight seeing and visiting the Gaurishankar Lake. Early next morning on 18 December 1880, the governor drove the last spike of the permanent way at the city station (now Bhavnagar Terminus) in the presence of a large gathering and declared the railway line from

open, then went to a welcome at Limdi station. The Bhavnagar State Railway along with other state railways of Kathiawar and Saurashtra were merged in April 1948 into

Saurashtra Railway Saurashtra Railway came into being in April, 1948 with the amalgamation of state railways like Bhavnagar State Railway, Gondal Railway, Porbandar Railway, Jamnagar & Dwarka Railway, Morvi Railway, Dhrangadhra Railway, Okhamandal State Railway, ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. Saurashtra Railway was merged with BB&CI to form

Western Railways The Western Railway (abbreviated WR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways and is among the busiest railway networks in India, headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railw ...

Rolling Stock

In 1936, the company owned 35 locomotives, 1 railcar, 187 coaches and 1059 goods wagons.

Classification

It was labeled as a Class II railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

Conversion to broad gauge

The BSR was converted to broad gauge in 2003.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110205000410/http://www.bhavnagar.com/history3.asp * http://www.antya.com/wikisearch.php?s=Bhavnagar * http://www.pipavavrailway.com/update.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhavnagar State Railway Transport in Bhavnagar Metre gauge railways in India Defunct railway companies of India History of rail transport in Gujarat