Oudh Rohilkhand Railway (ORR) – Working and Organisation - - AK Shrivastava

Oudh Rohilkhand Railway (ORR) – Working and Organisation - ORR played a major role in the extension of the network and the change of mode choice in the late 19th Century. It spread a vast network by the dawn of the 20th Century, reaching its spread to both corners of what is now UP. Within a year of the railway reaching Lucknow, IBR was metamorphosed into ORR, a guaranteed railway, and with assured returns, ready to leapfrog. Very few of us recall that ORR was taken over by the State in 1888, and it also stitched two extended hands of MG, one of BN$NWR and the other of BB&CI, by building Kanpur –Burhwal MG (Kanpur- Aishbagh and Daliganj- Burhwal) and provided MG connectivity from the Arabian Sea to Assam. Pictorial Lucknow (1883) provides a brief overview of the working and organisation of ORR, “The designation was now changed from Indian Branch to “Oudh and Rohilkund Railway.” The management and supervision of the Company are done by a managing Director in London, and here by an Agent, who with his Deputy, is responsible for the general conduct of affairs, a Chief Engineer, who with his Residents, sees construction and maintenance of Railway Lines and buildings,—a Loco-Superintendent, who in his Workshop, looks to the Locomotive and Carriage Department; a Traffic manager, who with his two Superintendents, controls the traffic, stations- and staff; an Auditor, who checks accounts and expenditure, and a Consulting Engineer, who supervises the whole staff and works. The latter two are the representatives of the Government of India. The business of the railway is transacted by and recorded in official meetings, which are held periodically; while the Government sanctions all expenditure, and the lines are inspected in half-yearly tours. “(Page 81-82): ORR, as a private company, was short-lived for about 22 years. On 1st January 1889, it was acquired by the Government. One can visualize the financial performance by looking at the results at the end of 1889 (report of 1918). At the time of acquisition, it had a 692.55 KM open network which included a short MG line of 2.18 miles, from Banaras to Banaras City. At the end of 1889, its operating ratio (ratio of earnings to expenditure) was 44.24, meaning for 100 Rs earnings, it was spending only Rs 44.24. Return on Capital was 4.56 %. With Gross earnings of 75,38,683, it made some net earnings of 42,94,076. By 1917-18, the network grew to 1,511 Miles. Its operating ratio further improved to 38.13, and return on capital went up to 8.29.