4.1.2. Sleepers on the Tracks

Sleepers – Wooden planks laid across railway tracks; they hold the tracks in position.

Sleepers are essential components of railway construction. They are wooden planks placed across the railway tracks to support and stabilize them. The role of sleepers is crucial for ensuring safety and comfort during train travel since they hold the tracks firmly in position.

Imagine if you were building a wooden bridge; you would need solid beams to hold it up. Similarly, sleepers support railway tracks, maintaining their structure just like beams maintain a bridge.

Adivasis were hired by the forest department to cut trees, and make smooth planks which would serve as sleepers for the railways. At the same time, they were not allowed to cut these trees to build their own houses.

The Adivasi community played a significant role in railway expansion. They were employed to cut down trees in forests and process these trees into smooth wooden planks for use as sleepers. Ironically, while they were allowed to cut trees for railway construction, they were prohibited from using these very resources to build their homes, highlighting inequalities in resource access.

Think of a scenario where a worker builds roads using materials they cannot get for themselves to improve their living conditions – they labor for the benefit of others while being denied the same benefits.

By the early nineteenth century, oak forests in England were disappearing. This created a problem of timber supply for the Royal Navy. How could English ships be built without a regular supply of strong and durable timber?

As oak forests in England dwindled due to excessive cutting, a pressing problem arose: the timber needed for building ships crucial for imperial power was in short supply. This drove British authorities to seek timber resources in colonies like India, leading to large-scale logging.

Just like a bakery needs flour to make bread, the British Navy needed timber to construct ships. When local resources ran low, they had to seek out flour from a different source, which in this case was the forests of India.

The spread of railways from the 1850s created a new demand. Railways were essential for colonial trade and for the movement of imperial troops. To run locomotives, wood was needed as fuel, and to lay railway lines sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together.

The expansion of the railway network spurred an insatiable demand for timber – not only for sleepers to support the tracks but also for wood fuel to power locomotives. This development significantly increased the rate of deforestation as large quantities of trees were felled to meet these needs.

Think of how a car requires fuel to run. If gasoline becomes scarce, more oil drillings would inevitably occur. Similarly, the railways needed wood, thus prompting more deforestation as a result of the very systems that are meant to improve transport.

Each mile of railway track required between 1,760 and 2,000 sleepers. From the 1860s, the railway network expanded rapidly. By 1890, about 25,500 km of track had been laid. In 1946, the length of the tracks had increased to over 765,000 km.

The demands of building extensive railway tracks were staggering, with each mile requiring nearly 2,000 wooden sleepers. This exponential growth in railway length from 25,500 km in 1890 to over 765,000 km by 1946 exemplifies the massive scale of logging required. This escalating demand contributed significantly to the loss of forested areas in India.

Imagine a construction project where every new building requires hundreds of tons of bricks. The more buildings we construct, the more we deplete local resources. As trains spread, just as buildings do, the need for sleepers (and thus timber) skyrocketed.

The government gave out contracts to individuals to supply the required quantities. These contractors began cutting trees indiscriminately. Forests around the railway tracks fast started disappearing.

In response to the overwhelming demand for timber, the government contracted private contractors who often cut trees without much regulation. This led to rampant deforestation, particularly in areas around the railway tracks, where trees were felled with little regard for conservation, causing significant loss of biodiversity and disruptions in the ecosystem.

Consider a person selling fruits at a market. If they are asked to sell a massive quantity each day, they might pick more fruits than their trees can regenerate, leading to a scarcity of fruits the following season. The contractors' logging practices had a similar effect on India’s forests.

Activity: ‘The new line to be constructed was the Indus Valley Railway between Multan and Sukkur, a distance of nearly 300 miles. At the rate of 2000 sleepers per mile this would require 600,000 sleepers 10 feet by 10 inches by 5 inches (or 3.5 cubic feet apiece)...’

The construction of extensive railway lines prompted massive calculations about resource needs. For instance, the proposed Indus Valley Railway required an immense quantity of sleepers: 600,000 in total, which hints at the extensive resources required for a single railway project. Such projects exemplified the level of logging needed and portrayed the impact on forests.

When planning a big event, if 500 chairs are needed, one considers what materials and labor are required to gather them. The railway expansion plans represent an even greater task, illustrating how a single demand can lead to widespread extraction of natural resources.

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