the shore in 1861. However, the storms of 1868 and 1872 made the initial piers inoperative. In 1875, Edward VII laid the foundation stone for a new port, and the masonry work for L-shaped breakwaters was started in 1876. The northern and southern groynes of the harbour were constructed, to create a still water enclosure that would be unaffected by storm and surf water. However, the groynes collapsed in 1877. The same year, construction of the south pier was commenced with concrete blocks weighing 33 tonnes each brought from Pallavaram, and the port started handling ships inside the harbour from 1881. However, again the storm of 12 November 1881 completely washed the almost-completed harbour, breaching over half a mile of breakwater. An artificial harbour was then built and the operations were started in 1881, and the pier was rebuilt in 1885, although there was a demand for relocating the entrance. Work on the harbour was completed in 1911. The Chennai Port Trust has taken the year 1881, the year of rebuilding, as the starting year. The cargo operations were carried out on the northern pier, located on the northeastern side of Fort St. George in Chennai. In the first couple of years the port registered traffic of 300,000 tonnes of cargo handling 600 ships. The first railway line in South India was laid between Madras and Arcot which started operating in 1856. By the late 19th century, the port was well connected to the other two important cities in the British colony, viz. Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata). In 1904, a new northeastern entrance was added to control siltation in the basin, after closing the original eastern entrance. The port's quays (berths) were constructed at different periods—the South Quay I in 1913, the five west quay berths between 1916 and 1920, the north quay in 1931 and the South Quay II in 1936, in the Inner Harbour, later christened Dr. Ambedkar Dock. Chennai was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I when a German cruiser, , shelled the oil depot within the port belonging to the Burmah Oil Company and raided vessels in 1914 disrupting trade, resulting in the death of at least 5 sailors. Other than Calcutta, which was practically taken over by the American army, Chennai port was the only other operational one in eastern waters during the Second World