The Scinde Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated in

Sind Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

between 1855 and 1885.

History

The Scinde Railway was first established by deed of settlement in March 1855 and incorporated by the ''‘Scinde Railway Act’'' of Parliament in July 1855. The company contracted with the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

to construct a line between

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and

Kotri Kotri ( sd, ڪوٽڙي, ur, ) is a city and the headquarters of the Kotri Taluka of Jamshoro District of Sindh province in Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Indus River, it is the 29th largest city in Pakistan by population. Name The ...

. The company was granted a 5% return on investment up to a maximum of £1 million in order to build the 120-mile line. The Karachi-Kotri Railway Line work commenced in April 1858 and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting Karachi to Kotri. This was the first railway line for public use between Karachi and Kotri, a distance of 108 miles (174 km). The company was involved in a number of additional railway line projects, as well as the establishment of the

Indus Steam Flotilla 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 Pakista ...

along the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

and

Chenab River The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

. The ‘Scinde Railway Act' of 1857 granted it the opportunity to extend its operations. In 1870, the Scinde Railway Company was amalgamated with the

Punjab Railway The Punjab Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885 in Punjab. History The Punjab Railway was established shortly after the ''Scinde Railway Act'' of Parliament in July 1855 ...

and

Delhi Railway The Delhi Railway was a railway company that operated in British India. It later merged with Scinde Railway, Punjab Railway and Indus Steam Flotilla to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway The Scinde, Punjab, Delhi Railway was formed in ...

companies and renamed as the

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 1869 ...

company. This was covered by the ‘Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act‘ of 1869.

Rolling stock

By the end of 1864 the company owned 31 steam locomotives, 66 coaches and 617 goods wagons.

Personnel

*John Brunton: (1857), appointed chief resident engineer of Scinde Railway,Google Books "The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads" by Stephen Hughes, page 126
Retrieved 14 Jun 2016 (1858–62) supervised the construction of the 108 miles (174 kilometers) Scinde Railway line between

and

until its completion in 1862. His detailed "Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" itemise the problems of building the line. *William Arthur Brunton, (son of John Brunton): (1857) at age 17, assistant engineer and later area surveyor on the Scinde Railway and

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 ...

, (1859-1961) responsible for the erection of the thirty-two 45 foot (13.7 meter) span of Bahrun Valley Viaduct. This is the longest bridge on the Karachi-Kotri section and is a viaduct across the Bahrun River. Construction on this bridge was started on 5 March 1859 and completed on 26 January 1861."Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan" by Owais Mughal, 2009
Retrieved 14 Jun 2016 *Willoughby Charles Furnivall: (c.1860-70), district engineer in charge of construction under John BruntonInstitution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - Furnivall, Willoughby Charles"
Retrieved on 21 Jul 2016

References

External links

"Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan"
17/09/2009. All things Pakistan, now an archived website
"The Scinde railway, and its relations to the Euphrates valley, and other routes to India"
by W P Andrews, Chairman of the Scinde Railway Company 1856 Google Books
"Report of proceedings of an extraordinary general meeting of the Scinde Railway Company, held on Friday the 24th July, 1857"
Google Books *Brunton, John, "Description of the Line and Works of the Scinde Railway". 1863. Available in
Full View Google Books
o
pdf
from Panhwar.com
"British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue" - Search
Retrieved 8 Apr 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scinde Railway Transport in Karachi Transport in Multan Defunct railway companies of Pakistan Railway companies established in 1855 Indian companies established in 1855

History

Rolling stock

Personnel

See also

References

External links