In 1854 the British colonial government in India started building a rail link from Kolkata to the coalfields in Bardhaman district. This was the second railway line constructed in India after the first one from Mumbai to Thaney in 1853. The line started from Howrah, then a small town on the west shore of the Hooghly River.
Initial plans for the first Howrah station were submitted by George Turnbull the Chief Engineer of the East Indian Railway Company on 17 June 1851. In January 1852, it became clear that the government authorities would not sanction the purchase of sufficient land nor the necessary waterfrontage despite remonstrations from Turnbull that the terminus would grow enormously. In May 1852, the detailed station plans were the major work of him and his team of engineers. In October four tenders for building the station were received varying from 190,000 to 274,526 INR against an estimate of 250,000 INR.Diaries of George Turnbull (Chief Engineer, East Indian Railway Company) held at the Centre of South Asian Studies at Cambridge University,... Read More