The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, Australia’s third oldest newspaper, carried the following report on this day.
“The railway in Calcutta was opened on the 15th August. From that day trains commenced to run between Howrah and Hooghly. On the 1st of September they will proceed as far as Pundooah, and on the 1st of January, 1855, the official inauguration of the railway will take place, and the line will be opened to Raneegunge — a distance of 122 miles from Calcutta. The journey from Howrah to Pundooan, a distance of 38 miles, occupies one hour and fifty minutes inclusive of stoppages, so that the rate of travelling is a fraction less than twenty, or, exclusive of stoppages, as nearly as possible thirty miles an hour.”
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