<P> The first proposals for railways in India were made in Madras in 1832 . The first train in India ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in 1837 . It was called Red Hill Railway and used a rotary steam locomotive manufactured by William Avery . The railway was built by Sir Arthur Cotton and was mainly used for transporting granite stones for road - building work in Madras . In 1845 Cotton built the Godavari Dam Construction Railway at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry, used to supply stones for construction of a dam over Godavari . </P> <P> On 8 May 1845, Madras Railway was incorporated, and East India Railway (EIR) was incorporated the same year . On 1 August 1849 Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) was incorporated by an Act of Parliament . A "Guarantee System" providing free land and guaranteeing rates of return (5%) to private English companies building railways was finalized on 17 August 1849 . In 1851 the Solani Aqueduct Railway was built in Roorkee, hauled by a steam locomotive called Thomason, named after a British officer . It was used for transporting construction materials for an aqueduct over the Solani river . In 1852 the Madras Guaranteed Railway Company was incorporated . </P> <P> The first passenger train in India ran between Bombay (Bori Bunder) and Thane on 16 April 1853 . The 14 - carriage train was hauled by three steam locomotives: Sahib, Sindh and Sultan . It could carry 400 people and ran on a line of 34 kilometres (21 mi) built and operated by GIPR . This line was built in 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge, which became the standard for railways in the country . In Eastern India, the first passenger railway train ran from Howrah (near Calcutta) to Hoogly on 15 August 1854 . The 39 - kilometre (24 mi) line was built and operated by EIR . In May 1854 the Bombay--Thane line was extended to Kalyan by building India's first railway bridge, the Dapoorie viaduct, over Ulhas river . The line was extended to Khopoli in 1855 . In August 1855, EIR Express and Fairy Queen steam locomotives started hauling trains . The first passenger train in South India ran from Royapuram and Veyasarapady (Madras) to Wallajah Road (Arcot) on 1 July 1856 on a 97 - kilometre (60 mi) line built and operated by Madras Railway . </P> <P> On 24 February 1873 the first tramway, a 3.8 - kilometre (2.4 mi) horse - drawn tramway, opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street . On 9 May 1874 a horse - drawn tramway began operation in Bombay between Colaba and Parel . In 1880 Calcutta Tramways Company was incorporated . </P>

When did the train service start in india