Rail transport in Pakistan began in 1855 during the British Raj, when several railway companies began laying track and operating in present-day Pakistan. The country's rail system has been nationalised as Pakistan Railways (originally the Pakistan Western Railway). The system was originally a patchwork of local rail lines operated by small private companies, including the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways and the Indus Steam Flotilla. In 1870, the four companies were amalgamated as the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway. Several other rail lines were built shortly thereafter, including the Sind–Sagar and Trans–Baluchistan Railways and the Sind–Pishin, Indus Valley, Punjab Northern and Kandahar State Railways. These six companies and the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway merged to form the North Western State Railway in 1880. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the North Western Railway became Pakistan Western Railway and the rail system was reorganised in the dominion of Pakistan; some of the reorganisation was controversial. Rail use increased in early 1948, and the network became profitable. Declining passenger numbers and financial losses in the late 1980s and early 1990s prompted the closure of many branch lines and small stations. The 1990s saw corporate mismanagement and severe cuts in rail subsidies. Due to falling passenger numbers, government subsidies are necessary to keep the railways financially viable.
The Scinde Railway Company was established in 1855, after Karachi's potential as a seaport was first explored in the early 1850s. Henry Bartle Frere, who was appointed Commissioner of Sindh shortly after its fall in the Battle of Miani, sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin a survey for a seaport. The Scinde Railway was established by a settlement in March 1855, and was incorporated by Parliament in the Scinde Railway Act of July of that year. [1] [2] Frere began the rail survey in 1858, and a rail line from Karachi to Kotri; steam navigation up the Indus and Chenab Rivers to Multan, and another rail line to Lahore were proposed. Work on the railway began in April 1858, and Karachi and Kotri—a distance of 108 miles (174 km)—were connected by rail on 13 May 1861. [3]
The Punjab Railway was established shortly after the July 1855 passage of the Scinde Railway Act. [1] [2] [4] As the Karachi-to-Kotri line was being constructed and the Indus Steam Flotilla was being set up to transport passengers to Multan, the Punjab Railway was laid from Multan to Lahore and onward to Amritsar. [5] The line opened in 1861, connecting Karachi and Lahore.
The Indus Steam Flotilla was a freight and passenger steamship company which operated initially between Karachi and Multan and later between Kotri and Multan after the completion of the Karachi-Kotri Railway Line between 1858 and 1870. [6] The Indus Steam Flotilla provided "the navigation of the Indus, &c, by means of steam vessels [sic], between Kotri and Multan, to be worked in connection with the railways."[ citation needed ] It plied the Indus and Chenab Rivers from Karachi Port in the south to Makhad in the north via Jhirk and Mithankot. The journey between Karachi and Multan alone took up to 40 days. The company had its headquarters in Kotri, and its promoters negotiated the same guaranteed rate of return as the original guaranteed railways. It later merged with the Scinde and Punjab Railways to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway. With the Scinde Railway in place, the Indus Flotilla steamers could take cargo from Kotri instead of Karachi (saving about 150 miles (240 km) through the Indus River delta). The railway bypassed Jhirk (Jherruk), reducing its importance. In 1856, the Scinde Railway charter was expanded to include the construction of Punjab Railway connecting Multan
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. Deepak [1] 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).
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 Ferozepur (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.
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 [7] 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.
Government considered Russia, who might advance from Afghanistan into Quetta, a threat to its rule in the subcontinent. [8] 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 Second 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 kilometres (134 mi) from Ruk to Sibi was completed in January 1880. Beyond Sibi, however, the terrain was difficult. After harsh weather, the over-320-kilometre (200 mi) line finally reached Quetta in March 1887. [8]
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 kilometres (455 mi) long, with the last 100-kilometer section in Iran. It is little used, with one fortnightly train between Quetta and Zahidan. [9]
The Kandahar State Railway opened in 1881 and originally ran from Sibi and onward to Rindli, with the intention of reaching Quetta and Kandahar. [10] However, the line never reached Quetta. [11] 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 State 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.[ citation needed ] Although the Bolan Pass rail construction enabled the NWR route to be selected, the line was later dismantled.[ citation needed ]
The Sind–Sagar Railway was originally constructed as a Metre Gauge railway line from Lala Musa to Malakwal. In 1886 the Sind–Sagar Railway was amalgamated with other railways to form the North Western State Railway and railway line from was converted to broad gauge. The Chak Nizam Bridge, also known as Victoria Bridge, was completed in early 1887 over the Jhelum river in Shahpur District and connected Jhelum to Lahore. The NWR Sind-Sagar Branch Line was the new name for the line and continued to be extended with branch lines and designated as part of the 'Frontier Section – Military Line'.
The North Western State Railway ( reporting mark 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. [12] The NWR also absorbed several smaller railways, including the Quetta Link Railway (a strategic line constructed by the Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway in 1887), Jammu–Sialkot Railway (opened in 1897), Kasur–Lodhran Railway (opened 1909–10 and later dismantled), Shorekot Road–Chichoki Railway (opened 1910), Sialkot–Narowal Railway (opened 1915), Shahdara Bagh–Narowal Railway (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. [13] 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. [14] 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. [15]
After the independence of Pakistan from the British Empire in 1947, North Western Railway track became the Pakistan Railway. In 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Government of Pakistan invited Frank D'Souza to set up the Pakistani rail system.[ citation needed ]
The railway was extended to Mardan and Charsada in 1954, and two years later the Jacobabad–Kashmore 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) line was converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge. In 1961, the Pakistani portion of the North Western Railway was renamed Pakistan Railways. The Kot Adu–Kashmore line, constructed between 1969 and 1973, provided an alternative route north from Karachi.[ citation needed ]
Transport in Pakistan is extensive and varied. In recent years, new national highways have been built, with the addition of motorways which have improved trade and logistics within the country. Pakistan's rail network is also undergoing expansion in recent years. Airports and seaports have been built with the addition of foreign and domestic funding. Transportation challenges in Pakistan are escalating due to poor planning, inadequate governance, and corrupt practices.
Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns 7,789 kilometres of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger services, covering 482 operational stations across Pakistan.
The Ministry of Railways is a ministry of the Government of Pakistan tasked with planning, administrating and overseeing government policies for the development of the national rail network, Pakistan Railways. Originally a department of the Ministry of Communications, in May 1974 it formed into an autonomous ministry of the federal government. The ministry headquarters is located at Block D of the Pak Secretariat in Islamabad.
Rawalpindi Railway Station is located in Saddar area of Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of several major stops on the Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line. The nearest Saddar Metrobus Station, part of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is 20 minutes (1.5 km) walk away.
Quetta Railway Station is the main railway station of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. It serves as a major station on the Rohri-Chaman Railway Line and as the eastern terminus of the Quetta-Taftan Railway Line.
The North Western State Railway (NWSR) 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 and the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway and the Kandahar State Railway.
The Ambala–Attari line is a railway line connecting Ambala Cantonment in the Indian state of Haryana and Attari in Punjab. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway.
The Jalandhar–Jammu line is a railway line connecting Jalandhar Cantonment and Jalandhar City in the Indian state of Punjab with Jammu Tawi in Jammu and Kashmir. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway. This line was made after Indian Independence in 1947. Normally before partition of India and creation of Pakistan, trains to Jammu Tawi from Delhi used to run via Panipat, Ambala Cantonment, Ludhiana, Jalandhar City, Amritsar, Lahore, Narowal and Sialkot. But after partition and creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Sialkot–Jammu Tawi line was dismantled and closed permanently. Jammu and Kashmir became cut off from rest of India. Hence in 1949, it was decided to extend the line from Jalandhar City to Mukerian till Pathankot and after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, this line was extended to Jammu Tawi. This 216 km (134 mi) railway line is an important strategic connectivity for Indian Military and Defence.
The Amritsar–Pathankot line is a railway line connecting Amritsar and Pathankot Junction both in the Indian state of Punjab. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway.
The Ludhiana–Fazilka line is a railway line connecting Ludhiana and Fazilka both in the Indian state of the Punjab. The line is under the administrative jurisdiction of Northern Railway.
Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line is one of four main railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line starts from Kiamari station in the province of Sindh and ends at Peshawar Cantonment Station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The railway track is dual between Keamari and Shahdara Bagh, Chaklala and Golra Sharif. The total length of the line is 1,687 kilometers (1,048 mi), with 176 railway stations in between. The line serves as the country's main passenger and freight line with 75% of the country's cargo and passenger traffic.
Rohri–Chaman Railway Line is one of four main railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line begins from Rohri Junction station and ends at Chaman station. The total length of this railway line is 526 kilometers (327 mi). There are 38 railway stations from Rohri Junction to Chaman on this line and is famous for passing through the historic Bolan pass. This line incorporates part of the historic Sind–Pishin State Railway.
The Scinde Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated in Sind during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885.
The Punjab Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885 in Punjab.
The Scinde, Punjab, Delhi Railway was formed in 1870 from the incorporation of the Scinde Railway, Indus Steam Flotilla, Punjab Railway and Delhi Railway companies. This was covered by the Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act 1869.
The Indus Valley State Railway was a railway founded in 1871 to provide a rail link between Kotri and Multan and to replace the Indus Steam Flotilla. The opening of the line thus connected Karachi with Lahore.
The Sind–Pishin State Railway was the name of a broad gauge line that ran between Rohri, Sindh and Chaman, Balochistan. In 1886, the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway was amalgamated with the Kandahar State Railway and several other railways to form the North Western State Railway (NWR). Today the line is still active and part of the Rohri–Chaman Railway Line.
The Sind–Sagar Railway was originally constructed as a Metre Gauge railway line from Lala Musa to Malakwal, Pakistan. In 1886 the Sind–Sagar Railway was amalgamated with other railways to form the North Western State Railway and railway line from was converted to broad gauge. The Chak Nizam Bridge, also known as Victoria Bridge, was completed in early 1887 over the Jhelum river in Shahpur District and connected Jhelum to Lahore. The NWR Sind-Sagar Branch Line was the new name for the line and continued to be extended with branch lines and designated as part of the 'Frontier Section - Military Line'.
The Sibi-Zardalu Branch Line, previously known as Kandahar State Railway opened in 1881, originally ran from Sibi and then on wards to Rindli, with the intention to reaching Quetta and onwards to Kandahar. However, the line never reached Kandahar. The Kandahar State Railway had its headquarters at Sibi, Balochistan. The Kandahar State Railway joined with the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway and in 1886 amalgamated, with other railways, to form North Western State Railway (NWSR). The total length of this line is 140 kilometers with 10 railway stations. The railway line was closed in 2006 after a terrorist attack. Rehabilitation work started in 2016, and after long delays the railway line became operational in 2023 up to Harnai.
On that day the Indian portion of tile North-Western was constituted into Eastern Punjab Railway, and the parts of the Bengal–Assam in the province of Assam were formed into Assam Railway.
