The correct answer is Bright. Explanation & Key Takeaways: • The first railway on the Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. • The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to Mr George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843. • On 21 August 1847, it entered into a formal contract with the East India Company for the construction and operation of a railway line, 56 km long, to form part of a trunk line connecting Bombay with Khandesh and Berar and generally with the other presidencies of India. • This demand was raised by Bright. • The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company was incorporated on 1 August 1849 by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company Act 1849 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. • The Court of Directors of the East India Company appointed James John Berkeley as Chief Resident Engineer and Charles Buchanan Ker and Robert Wilfred Graham as his assistants.