History of rail transport in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
has a rich railway heritage spanning almost 200 years which it owes the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. It was in 1847 when the first railway was imagined but it was not until 1861 when it came into existence in the form of the railway built from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to Kotri
Kotri
Kotri , a large town, is the headquarters station of the Kotri Taluka, or administrative district...
. Pakistan has stayed true to this rich heritage because since rail transport
Pakistan Railways
This article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: Transport in Pakistan.Pakistan Railways is a national state-owned rail transport service of Pakistan, head-quartered in Lahore. It is administered by the federal government under the Ministry of Railways....
is possibly the most popular mode of non-independent transport in Pakistan.
British Era
The possibility of KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
as a sea port was first noticed in the middle of 19th century. Sir Henry Edward Frere
Henry Bartle Frere
Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCSI, was a British colonial administrator.-Early life:Frere was born at Clydach House, Clydach, Monmouthshire, the son of Edward Frere, manager of Clydach Ironworks...
was appointed Commissioner of Sind in 1851 after its inclusion in Bombay Presidency
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...
and sought permission from Lord Dalhousie
James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT, PC was a Scottish statesman, and a colonial administrator in British India....
to begin a survey for a sea port. He also initiated the survey for a Railway line in 1858. It was proposed that a railway line from Karachi City to Kotri
Kotri
Kotri , a large town, is the headquarters station of the Kotri Taluka, or administrative district...
, steam navigation up the Indus
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
and Chenab rivers up to Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
and from there another railway to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and beyond be constructed.
The Scinde
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Railway was formed in 1855 and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to Kotri. This was the first railway line for public traffic between Karachi City and Kotri, a distance of 108 miles (174 km).
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
) Railways, Indus Flotilla
Indus flotilla
The Indus Flotilla was a steamship company established in 1859 in British India to provide "the navigation of the Indus, &c, by means of steamvessels [sic], between Kotree and Mooltan, to be worked in connexion with the railways." It came to ply the Indus River all the way from Karachi Port in the...
Company, Punjab Railway and Delhi Railways, working in a single company, were later on amalgamated into the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railways Company and purchased by the Secretary of State for India
Secretary of State for India
The Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office...
in 1885, and in January, 1886, it was named North Western State Railways, which was later on renamed as North Western Railway
North Western Railway
The North Western Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur. It comprises four divisions: Jodhpur and reorganized Bikaner division of the erstwhile Northern Railway and reorganized Jaipur and Ajmer divisions of the erstwhile Western Railway. This zone...
. The line between Karachi City and Kiamari
Kiamari
Kiamari is one of the neighbourhood of Kiamari Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.There are several ethnic groups in Kiamari including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim. The population of Kiamari...
was opened on 16 June 1889. During 1897 the line from Keamari to Kotri was doubled.
The railway line from Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
to Karachi closely follows Alexander’s line of march through the Hindu Kush mountains to the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
. Different sections on the existing main line from Peshawar to Lahore and Multan and branch lines were constructed in the last quarter of 19th century and early years of 20th century. In 1961, the Pakistani portion of the North Western Railway was renamed Pakistan Railways.
Post-Independence
At the time of independence, 1947 rtmi of North Western Railways were transferred to India, leaving 5048 rtmi to Pakistan. In 1954, the railway line was extended to MardanMardan
Mardan , known as The city of hospitality, is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe and the second most populous city in the province, located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of in the south...
and Charsada, and in 1956 the Jacobabad
Jacobabad
Jacobabad or Yaqubabad is the capital city of Jacobabad District, Sindh, Pakistan. The city is also the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district, the city is subdivided into 8 Union Councils...
-Kashmore
Kashmore
Kashmore is a town in and administrative centre for Kashmore District in the Sindh Province of Pakistan....
gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
line was converted
Gauge conversion
In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...
into broad gauge
Indian gauge
Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...
. The Kot Adu-Kashmore
Kashmore
Kashmore is a town in and administrative centre for Kashmore District in the Sindh Province of Pakistan....
line was constructed between 1969 and 1973 providing an alternative route from Karachi up the country.
See also
- Link to Iran
- Pakistan RailwaysPakistan RailwaysThis article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: Transport in Pakistan.Pakistan Railways is a national state-owned rail transport service of Pakistan, head-quartered in Lahore. It is administered by the federal government under the Ministry of Railways....