Railways were introduced in India in 1853   and as their development progressed through to the twentieth century, several company managed  systems grew up.To enforce standardisation and co-ordination amongst various railway systems, the Indian Railway Conference Association(IRCA) was set up in 1903, followed by the Central Standards Office (CSO) in 1930, for preparation of designs, standards and specifications. However, till independence, most of the designs and manufacture of railway equipments was entrusted to foreign consultants. With Independence and the resultant phenomenal increase in country’s industrial and economic activity, which increased the demand of rail transportation - a new organisation called Railway Testing and Research Centre (RTRC) was setup in 1952 at Lucknow, for testing and conducting appliedresearch for development of railway rolling stock, permanent way etc.