This summer how about taking a ride on the MMTS on a route that was once part of the Nizam's State Railways? It will throw many pleasant surprises such as the quaint James Street station near the busy markets in Secunderabad or the lone track behind the verdant “Bagh e Aam” or Public Gardens in Nampally. It is on this route that coal fuelled engines pulled the bogies of the royal entourage.
Vital links
“The British set up tracks from the port cities to other parts of the country to expand the network into the various Princely states like Hyderabad, which was then ruled by the Nizam,” says Mr. Sambasiva Rao, the Chief Public Relations Officer, South Central Railway. So, the first proposal for a railway link into the Nizam's territory was sent to Nasir ad-Dowlah Fakhundah Ali, Asaf Jah IV. However, it was during the reign of Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI that this link was realised. It was finally taken ahead and improved by Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII.
The Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway Company was set up at London in 1873.
The first railway line in the Nizam's dominion was constructed between Wadi and Hyderabad and was opened to traffic in 1874. “The local MMTS service, which ferries passengers in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, uses these tracks and stations,” adds Mr Sambasiva Rao.
The Asaf Jahi's surely thought ahead of their times. The railway network is one of the legacies that they left behind.
