Pakistan railway history pdf Continue Rail services in Pakistan began in 1855 during the British Raj, when several railway companies began to lay railway tracks and operate in modern Pakistan. The country's railway system was nationalized as the Pakistan Railways (originally the Pakistan Western Railway). Originally this system was a patchwork of local railway lines operated by small private companies, including Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways and the Indus Steam Flotilla. In 1870, four companies were merged into the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways. Shortly thereafter, several other railway lines were built, including the Sindh- Sagar and Trans-Balochistan railways, as well as Sindh Pishin, the Indus Valley, Northern Punjab and Kandahar. These six companies and Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway teamed up to form the Northwest State Railway in 1880. After independence in 1947, the North-West Railway became the Pakistan Western Railway and the railway system was reorganized; some of the reorganizations were controversial. The use of railways increased in early 1948, and the network became profitable. Passenger reductions and financial losses in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to the closure of many branches and small stations. In the 1990s, there was mismanagement of corporations and a major reduction in rail subsidies. Government subsidies are needed to ensure the financial viability of the railways. Early development (1855-1870) Scinde Railway Scinde Railway Company was founded in 1855, after Karachi's potential as a seaport was first explored in the early 1850s. Henry Bartle Frere, who was appointed Sindh commissioner shortly after his fall at the Battle of Miani, sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin the survey of the seaport. In March 1855, the Scinde Railway was founded by the settlement, which was incorporated by Parliament into the Scinde Railways Act in July of that year. Frere began the railway survey in 1858 and the railway line from Karachi to Cotri; steam navigation on the Indus and Chenab rivers to Multan and another railway line to Lahore were proposed. Work on the railway began in April 1858, and on May 13, 1861, Karachi and Kotri, 108 miles (174 km) away, were connected by rail. The Punjab Railway was established shortly after the Scinde railway line was built in July 1855 and the Indus steam flotilla was established to transport passengers to Multan, the Punjab Railway was built from Multan to Lahore and on to Amritsar. The line opened in 1861, connecting Lahore. The indus Steam Flotilla Indus was a freight and passenger steamship company that operated first between Karachi and Multan and then between Kotri and Multan after the completion of the Karachi-Cotri railway line between 1858 and 1870. Indus The flotilla provided the navigation of the Indus, C, with the help of steam ships, between Kotri and Multan, which will work in connection with the railways. He has been cured of the Indus and Shenab rivers from the port of Karachi in the south to Mahad in the north through Jirk and Mithankot. The journey between Karachi and Multan took up to 40 days. The company is headquartered in Cotri and its promoters have negotiated the same guaranteed rate of return as the original guaranteed railways. She later teamed up with Scinde and Punjab Railway to form the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways. Using the Scinde Railway, the Indus flotilla was able to deliver cargo from Kotri instead of Karachi (about 150 miles (240 km) across the Indus Delta. The railway bypassed Jherruk, reducing its value. In 1856, the Scinde Railway Charter was expanded to include the construction of the Punjab Railway linking Multan with Lahore and Amritsar. Mergers and extensions (1870-1885) of the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi railways Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway was formed in 1870 by the incorporation of the Indus Steam Flotilla and Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways by the Scinde Railway Company Unification Act of 1869. The company inherited a reputation for being the worst managed early private company. After the purchase in 1885, the SDR was merged with several other railways to form the Northwest State Railway (NWR). The Indus Valley State Railway Ind valley State Railway was undertaken by Scinde Railway's chief resident engineer John Brunton, assisted by his son William Arthur Branton, in 1869-70. The Empress Bridge, opened in 1878, led the IVSR across the Satley River between Ferozepur (Firozpur, south of Lahore) and Kasur. The line reached Sukkur in 1879, and the steam ferry, which carried eight carriages simultaneously through the Indus between Rory and Sukkur, was deemed cumbersome and time-consuming. The opening of the Lansdowne Bridge in 1889 decided to be a bottleneck, and the port of Karachi was connected to the rail network. Together with other companies, the Indus Valley State Railway was merged with the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi railways in 1886 to form the Northwest State Railway. Punjab Northern State Railway Punjab Northern State Railway, opened in 1876, was the line between Lahore and Peshawar. The route, which became a railway, was first surveyed in 1857, followed by years of political and military debate. The Punjab Northern State Railway was established in 1870-71 to build and operate the railway between Lahore and Peshawar. The first section of the line (from Lahore to Peshawar) was opened in 1876 and completed in 1883 Ettok Bridge across the Indus River. Francis Joseph Edward Spring was sent from the Imperial Civil Service's engineering department in 1873 as a consultant engineer for the PNSR survey and and parts of the railway and bridges, and remained attached to the railway until 1878. Several large bridges were built from Lahore to Peshawar to complete the PFSR line. The main article of the Sindh-Pishin State Railway: The Government of Sindh-Pishin State Railways considered Russia, which can advance from Afghanistan to quetta, a threat to its rule in South Asia. In 1857, William Andrew, Chairman of the Board of Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway, suggested that the railway lines to the Bolan Pass would play a strategic role in responding to the Russian threat. During the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), new opportunities were being felt to build a railway line to the city to facilitate access to the border. Work on the line began on September 18, 1879, and the first 215 kilometers (134 miles) from Hand to Sibi were completed in January 1880. Apart from Sibi, however, the terrain was difficult. After severe weather conditions, the over-320- kilometer (200-mile) line finally reached the city in March 1887. The Trans-Balujistan Railway, the Trans-Balochistan Railway, ran from quetta to Taftan and on to the Iranian city of zahidan. It has been named the Nashki Railroad Extension since its construction began west of Nushka in 1916. The line reached zahidan in 1922. It is 732 kilometers long, the last 100-kilometer stretch in Iran. It's a little used, with a once-in-a-week train between quetta and zahidan. The Kandahar State Railway, the Kandahar State Railway, was opened in 1881 and originally ran from Sibi and on to Rindli, with the intention of reaching the city and Kandahar. However, the line never reached quetta. In 1886, the railway joined the southern section of the Sindh-Pishin State Railway and in 1886 was merged with other railways to form the Northwest State Railway (NWR). From Sibi, the line ran southwest, enriching the hills to Rindli, and initially followed the Bolan stream to its head on the plateau. The flooding led to the abandonment of this alignment, and the railway follows the Mashkaf Valley. Although the construction of the Bolan Pass railway allowed the NVR route to be chosen, the line was later dismantled. The North- West State Railway (1885-1947) The North-West State Railway (NWR reporting mark) was formed in January 1886 as a result of the merger of the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway, the Indus Valley State Railway, the Punjab Northern State Railway, the eastern part of the Sindh Sagar Railway, the southern part of the Sind-Pishin Railway and the Kandahar State Railway. NWR is also a few small railways, including the quetta railway (strategic line, Built by Scinde, Punjaub and Delhi Railway in 1887), Jammu-Sialkot Railway (opened in 1897), Kasur-Lodhran Railway (opened 1909-10 and later dismantled), Shorecote Road Chicokhi Railway (opened 1910), Sialkot-Naal Railway (open 1915), Shahradara Shahara railway (opened in 1926) and the Transind Railway (opened in 1913). The military and strategic challenges to securing the border with Afghanistan were such that Francis Langford O'Callaghan, who was stationed from the State Railways as Chief Engineer, was called on to a series of demanding rail projects, surveys and facilities in the Northwest Border. What began as military and strategic railway projects became part of the Northwest State Railway network when it was formed in 1886. The Bolan Pass Railway was completed in 1886, and in 1887 the Khawaja-Amran Railway included the Chaman Tunnel and the Chaman 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 North-West Border. In 1947, much of the Northwest State Railway in Pakistan became part of Pakistan's Western Railways; The Indian part was included in the Eastern Punjab Railway. After the creation of Pakistan, 1,947 route miles (3,133 km) of the Northwest Railways remained in India, leaving 5,048 route miles (8,124 km) in Pakistan. In 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Government of Pakistan proposed to Frank D'Suz to establish a Pakistani railway system.