Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway 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'' of 186 ...

Indus Valley State Railway 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. History The survey of the Indus V ...

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

Sind–Sagar Railway 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 wa ...

Kandahar State Railway The Kandahar State Railway opened c.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 Quetta. The military and strategic concerns for securing the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

were such that, Francis Langford O'Callaghan (who was posted from the state railways as engineer-in-chief) was called upon for a number of demanding railway projects, surveys and constructions in the Northwest Frontier.Institution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - O'Callaghan, Francis Langford "
Retrieved on 9 Jul 2016 What initially started off as military and strategic railway project, ended up becoming part of the North Western State Railway network upon its formation in 1886. The Bolan Pass railway was completed in 1886 and in 1887 the Khawaja Amran Railway Survey included the

Khojak Tunnel The Khojak Tunnel ( ur, , ''Khojak Sarang''), is a railway tunnel in the Toba Achakzai range in the Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan province, Pakistan.''1998 District Census Report of Killa Abdullah'', Population Census Organisation, G ...

and the Chaman Extension Railway. The

Khojak Tunnel The Khojak Tunnel ( ur, , ''Khojak Sarang''), is a railway tunnel in the Toba Achakzai range in the Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan province, Pakistan.''1998 District Census Report of Killa Abdullah'', Population Census Organisation, G ...

opened in 1891 and the railway reached

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 o ...

near the Afghan border. By 1905, it was the longest railway under one administration and the strategic railway of the entire Northwest frontier. In 1947, much of the North Western State Railway fell in Pakistan territory domain and became part of the

Pakistan Western Railways The Pakistan Western Railway ( ur, ) was one of two divisions of Pakistan Railways which operated between 1947 and 1971. The company was headquartered in Lahore.https://www.pakrail.gov.pk/AboutUs.aspx In 1971, Pakistan Western Railway renamed ...

, while railways in Indian territory became incorporated into the

Eastern Punjab Railway The Eastern Punjab Railway was the successor of the North Western State Railway in East Punjab after the partition of India. In 1952, Northern Railway was formed with a portion of East Indian Railway Company The East Indian Railway Company ...

.

Mergers

The North Western State Railway network was formed by merging several major and minor railways together. These included:

Major railways absorbed

*

Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway 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'' of 186 ...

*

Indus Valley State Railway 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. History The survey of the Indus V ...

*

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

*

Sind–Sagar Railway 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 wa ...

* Sind–Pishin State Railway *

Kandahar State Railway The Kandahar State Railway opened c.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 Quetta.Trans–Baluchistan Railway

Minor railways absorbed

* Quetta Link Railway, opened in 1887 * Jammu–Sialkot Railway, opened in 1897 * Kasur–Lodhran Railway, opened in 1909, dismantled in 1917 and rebuilt in 1922 * Shorekot Road–Chichoki Railway, opened in 1910 * Trans–Indus Railway, opened 1913 * Sialkot–Narowal Railway, opened in 1915 * Shahdara Bagh–Narowal Railway, opened in 1926

Construction

The North Western State Railway undertook a major railway expansion program, which included: * Amritsar–Patti Railway, opened in 1906 and extended to

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also Romanization of Urdu, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city serves as th ...

in 1910 * Bahawalnagar–Fort Abbas Railway, opened in 1928 and financed by the

Princely A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Bahawalpur State Bahawalpur ( Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and me ...

* Mari Indus Railway, opened in 1913 *

Bannu Railway Bannu ( ps, بنو, translit=banū ; ur, , translit=bannū̃, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe ...

, under survey in 1909 but never constructed *

Dandot Light Railway Dandot Light Railway ( ur, ) was one of several branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line began at Dandot RS and ended at Chalisa Junction. The total length of this railway line is with 4 railway statio ...

, opened in 1905 to serve the

Khewra Salt Mine The Khewra Salt Mine (or Mayo Salt Mine) is in Khewra, north of Pind Dadan Khan, an administrative subdivision of Jhelum District, Punjab Region, Pakistan. The mine is in the Salt Range, Potohar plateau, which rises from the Indo-Gangetic Pla ...

* Hyderabad–Badin Railway, opened in 1905, dismantled in 1917 and rebuilt in 1922 * Jacobabad–Kashmore Railway, opened in 1911 * Mari–Attock Railway, opened in 1891 * Kotri–Rohri Railway, opened in 1900 following the completion of

Kotri Bridge Kotri Bridge ( ur, ) is a road-rail bridge situated between Kotri and Hyderabad on Indus river in Sindh, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the ...

in 1899 * Khanai–Hindubagh Railway, opened in 1921 *

Khanpur–Chachran Railway Khanpur–Chachran Railway ( ur, ) was one of several branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line began at Khanpur Junction and ended at Chachran. The total length of this railway line is with 4 railway s ...

, opened in 1911 and financed by the

Princely State A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

* Khushalgarh–Kohat–Thal Railway *

Khyber Pass Railway The Khyber Pass Railway ( ur, ) was one of several railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line begins at Peshawar City and ended at Landi Khana. The total length of this railway line is with 13 railway st ...

, opened in 1925 as a strategic line to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

*

Larkana–Jacobabad Light Railway The Larkana–Jacobabad Light Railway ( ur, ) was one of several Railway lines in Pakistan, branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line began at Larkana Junction railway station, Larkana Junction and ended at ...

, opened in 1921 *

Mandra–Bhaun Railway Mandra–Bhaun Railway ( ur, ) was one of several railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line began at Mandra Junction and ended at Bhaun, a village about south of the Chakwal city, at the foothills of Sa ...

, opened in 1915 * Mushkaf–Bolan Railway *

Nowshera–Dargai Railway Nowshera–Dargai Railway ( ur, ) is one of several abandoned railway lines in Pakistan. The line begins at Nowshera Junction and ends at Dargai. The total length of this railway line is . There are 10 railway stations from Nowshera Junction ...

, opened in 1901 * Patti–Kasur Railway, opened in 1909 * Sirhind–Rupar Railway, opened in 1927 * Wazirabad–Multan Railway, opened in 1899 *

Zhob Valley Railway The Zhob Valley Railway ( ur, ) was one of several branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line began at Bostan Junction and ended at Zhob. The total length of this railway line is with 14 railway stations. ...

, opened in 1921

Rolling stock

2-8-2 tank locomotive for Bolan Pass, North Western Railway of India (Howden, Boys' Book of Locomotives, 1907)

1899 the North Western State Railway owned 602 steam locomotives, 2121 coaches and 10312 goods wagons. In 1906 a steam motor coach from

Vulcan Foundry The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside). History The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossi ...

was purchased. By 1936, the rolling stock had increased to 1332 locomotives, 18 railcars, 1494 coaches and more than 30.000 freight wagons.

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

References

External links

"British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue" - Search
Retrieved 30 May 2016
"Grace’s Guide"
Retrieved 30 May 2016
"National Archives from the RAIL collection"
Retrieved 30 May 2016 *''North Western Railway Magazine'' - Monthly staff magazine. Some editorial content published in Urdu . No BL holdings. 2 copies (November 1942, December 1945) are held in the Berridge Papers, Cambridge South Asian Archive.
Picture of the teachers and students of St. Andrew School, Pakistan Railways (then NWR) at Lahore, set up in the late 19th century
panoramio.com *Berridge, Percy Stuart Attwood. ''Couplings to the Khyber: the story of the North Western Railway''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969. *Terry Case

Includes a section abou

(refer photograph album above)
"History of Northern Railway"
''Northern Railway''.
Quetta to Lahore by Rail 1925
''All Things Pakistan'', now an archived website
"Breakup of the North Western Railway and the Anglo-Indian community"
by Kenneth Hugh Staynor. indiaofthepast.org
Images of British Steam Locomotives used by North Western Railways
Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part o
this
collection)
An old photograph of a Railway Inspection trolley with removable sailboard used on NWR Hyderabad-Kotri, Sindh, Pakistan
Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part o
this
collection)
Photograph of Troops travelling by train
taken by Private J W Linley of the 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment compiled whilst serving in India 1923-1938. flickr.com/photos/northampton_museum
Some railway personnel in 1898
Page 179 ''Quarterly Civil List for the Punjab: Corrected up to 1st October 1898'' Archive.org {{Indian Railways Defunct railway companies of Pakistan Defunct railway companies of India