Rowland Macdonald Stephenson, a British engineer who played a pioneering role in the establishment of the railways in colonial India, was born on this day.

He came to Calcutta in the 1840s and was convinced that railway lines could help both in the transport of coal and in army operations. His ideas were first rejected by the British government here as absurd. But he persisted.

He went back to England and submitted his proposal to the East India Company’s Court of Directors in 1844. He had by then founded East India Railway Company, with 13 persons on its board. Finally, the Calcutta government relented and Stephenson got the permission to start constructing railway lines and acquire land for the purpose.

In August 1854, East India Railway Company opened its first section from Howrah to Hooghly, a distance of about 38km. In February, 1855, the section from Howrah to Burdwan was opened. This was the beginning of the company’s journey in India. The government took over its running in 1925.

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