Bostan (بوستان) is a town, 30 km by road (18.64 mi) from

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

city in the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

.It is located at 30°25'57N 67°00'22E and has an altitude of 1593 metres (5229 feet). Bostan is Tehsil of the

Pishin District Pishin ( bal, پشین, ps, پښين, ur, ), IPA: pʂin/pçin, is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. In 1975 it was separated from Quetta District, while in 1994 part of it was split off to form the new district of Killa Ab ...

. It was previously included in Tehsil Karezat and covers an area between Mount Takathu and the Red Hills (Bostan clay).

History

This region was named after Bostan, who was great tribal leader and head of the Panezai clan of the

Kakar The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan. Legendary origin Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid. In Herat, the Ka ...

tribe. Bostan took part in a first Anglo-Afghan war (1839–1842). During the British era, Bostan was a famous railway junction connecting Quetta with

Zhob Zhob (; ) or Zhobak (), formerly known as Appozai or Fort Sandeman, is a city and district capital of Zhob District in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of Zhob River 337 km from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. T ...

Harnai Harnai ( ps, هرنای, ur, ) is the capital of Harnai District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was previously in Sibi District. It is located in the northeast of Balochistan province. The town is surrounded by the cities Ziarat, ...

and

Chaman Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital ...

. Bostan and

were connected by a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway track which was later dismantled around June 2008. The total length of this railway from Bostan to Zhob was 294 km, which made it the longest

Narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Railway of the subcontinent in 1920s. It had 11 stations in between including the famous Kan Mehtarzai station which was the highest station in Pakistan at an altitude of 2224 meters (7295 feet). For a long part of its journey, the railway followed the Zhob River and thus it was called the Zhob Valley Railway (ZVR).

Chronology of Bostan Zhob Railway

* 1916: Work started on Khanai – Hindubagh section of ZVR. * 1 January 1921: 74.7 km (46.12 mi) long Khanai to Hindubagh Narrow gauge track was completed * 2 May 1927: 62.93 km (38.85 mi) long Hindubagh to Qila Saifullah section of NG line was opened * 15 January 1929: 143.62 km (88.66 mi) long Qila Saifullah to Fort Sandeman (now called Zhob) section of NG line was opened. Only goods traffic started on this section on this date. * 15 July 1929: Passenger service started from Qila Saifullah to Fort Sandeman (now Zhob) * Year 1932 Bostan Harnai track dismantled for political reasons. * 20 November 1939: 15.84 km (9.78 mi) long Khanai to ''Bostan'' Jn NG was opened * 1985: ''Bostan'' to Zhob Narrow Gauge line was closed down for passenger service * 1986: ''Bostan'' to Zhob Narrow Gauge line was closed down for freight service * 2007–08: Narrow gauge track was uprooted and auctioned off for roughly Rs 300 million

References

{{Coord, 30, 25, 57, N, 67, 00, 22, E, display=title Populated places in Pishin District