Pakistan Railway History 2

4: Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway

The Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway was formed in 1870 from the incorporation of the Indus Steam Flotilla and the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways by the Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act of 1869.The Company inherited a reputation as the worst-managed of the early private companies. After its purchase in 1885, the SP&DR was merged with several other railways to form the North Western State Railway (NWR).

5: Indus Valley State Railway

The Indus Valley State Railway was undertaken by Scinde Railway chief resident engineer John Brunton, assisted by his son William Arthur Brunton, in 1869-70. The Empress Bridge opened in 1878, carried the IVSR over the Sutlej River between Ferozpur (Firozpur, south of Lahore) and Kasur.

The line reached Sukkur in 1879,and the steam ferry which transported eight wagons at a time across the Indus between Rohri and Sukkur was found to be cumbersome and time-consuming.The opening of the Lansdowne Bridge in 1889 resolved the bottleneck, and Karachi Port was connected to the rail network. With other companies, the Indus Valley State Railway was merged with the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway in 1886 to form the North Western State Railway.

6: Punjab Northern State Railway

The Punjab Northern State Railway, opened in 1876, was a line between Lahore and Peshawar. The route of what became the railway was first surveyed in 1857, followed by years of political and military debate.

The Punjab Northern State Railway was created in 1870-71 to construct and operate a railway between Lahore and Peshawar. The first section of line (from Lahore to Peshawar) was opened in 1876 and in 1883 the Attock Bridge over the Indus River was completed. Francis Joseph Edward Spring was deployed from the Imperial Civil Service's engineering section in 1873 as consulting engineer for the PNSR survey and the construction of portions of the railway and bridges, and remained attached to the railway until 1878. Several major bridges were constructed to complete the PNSR line from Lahore to Peshawar.

7: Sind–Pishin State Railway

Government considered Russia, who might advance from Afghanistan into Quetta, a threat to its rule in South Asia. In 1857, Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway chairman William Andrew suggested that rail lines to the Bolan Pass would have a strategic role in responding to a Russian threat. During the 2^nd Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80), a new urgency was felt to construct a rail line to Quetta for easier access to the frontier. Work began on the line on 18 September 1879, and the first 215 KM (134 mi) from Ruk to Sibi was completed in January 1880. Beyond Sibi, however, the terrain was difficult. After harsh weather, the over-320 KM (200 mi) line finally reached Quetta in March 1887.

8: Trans–Baluchistan Railway

The Trans-Balochistan Railway ran from Quetta to Taftan and onward to the Iranian city of Zahidan. It was named the Nushki Extension Railway, since its construction began west of Nushki in 1916. The line reached Zahidan in 1922. It is 732 KM (455 mi) long, with the last 100-kilometer section in Iran. It is little used, with one fortnightly train 14

8: Kandahar State Railway

The Kandahar State Railway opened in 1881 and originally ran from Sibi and onward to Rindli, with the intention of reaching Quetta and Kandahar. However, the line never reached Quetta. The railway joined with the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway and, in 1886, amalgamated with other railways to form the North Western Railway (NWR). From Sibi the line ran south-west, skirting the hills to Rindli, and originally followed the Bolan stream to its head on the plateau. Flooding led to the abandonment of this alignment, and the railway follows the Mashkaf Valley. Although the Bolan Pass rail construction enabled the NWR route to be selected, the line was later dismantled.

North Western State Railway 1885-1947

The North Western Railway (NWR) was formed in January 1886 from the merger of the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway, the Indus Valley State Railway, the Punjab Northern State Railway, the eastern section of the Sind-Sagar Railway, the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway and the Kandahar State Railway. The NWR also absorbed several smaller railways, including the Quetta Link Railway (a strategic line constructed by the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway in 1887), Jammu-Sialkot Railway (opened in 1897), Kasur-Lodhran Railway (opened 1909-10), Shorekot Road –Chichoki Railway (opened 1910), Sialkot-Narowal Railway (opened 1915), Shahdara Bagh-Narowal (opened 1926), and the Trans-Indus Railway (opened 1913). The military and strategic concerns for securing the border with Afghanistan were such that Francis Langford O'Callaghan, who was posted from the state railways as engineer-in-chief, was called on for a number of demanding railway projects, surveys and constructions in the Northwest Frontier (NWF). What began as military and strategic railway projects became part of the North Western State Railway network at its formation in 1886. The Bolan Pass railway was completed in 1886, and the 1887 Khawaja Amran Railway Survey included the Khojak Tunnel and the Chaman Extension Railway. The Khojak Tunnel opened in 1891 and the railway reached Chaman, near the Afghan border. By 1905, it was the longest railway under one administration and the strategic railway of the Northwest Frontier. In 1947, much of the North Western State Railway in Pakistan became part of Pakistan Western Railways the Indian portion was incorporated into the Eastern Punjab Railway.

Pakistan Railways 1947 to Present

After creation of Pakistan, 1,947 route miles (3,133KM) of North West Railways remained in India, leaving 5,048 routes (8,124 KM) in Pakistan. In 1947 founder of Pakistan Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Government of Pakistan invited Mr. Frank D’Souza to Setup the Pakistan Railways System.

The Railway was extended to Mardan and Charsada in 1954 and two years later the Jacobabad-Kashmore 2’6”(762mm) line was converted to 5’6”(1676mm) broad Gauge.In 1961 Pakistani portion of North western Railway was renamed Pakistan Railways. The KotAdu-Kashmore line constructed between 1969 and 1973 provided an alternative route north from Karachi.