Document 8
an enduring monument to british imperialism in india is the indian railway system, which at the
time of independence in 1947 had more track mileage than that of any european state and less than
only the united states, canada, and the soviet union. the first railway track was laid in india in
1850, and by 1915 india had better than forty thousand miles of track and approximately one
hundred million railroad passengers per year. indian railway building was supported by several
powerful groups: british cotton manufacturers, for whom railways were a cheap and efficient way
to get cotton to the coast for shipment to england; british industrialists, who supplied india with
most of its rails, locomotives, moving stock [railroad cars], and equipment; colonial officials, who saw
railroads as a way to move troops quickly to trouble spots and an essential part of the indian postal
system; and millions of indians, who, rather to the surprise of the british, took to rail travel with
great alacrity [enthusiasm]….
source: andrea and overfield, the human record: sources of global history, houghton mifflin
according to andrea and overfield, what were two ways the british used railroads in india? [2]