The Zhob Valley Railway ( ur, ) was one of several branch lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

. The line began at Bostan Junction and ended at

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 ...

. The total length of this railway line is with 14 railway stations. Upon competition, the railway became 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 ...

system in the region.

History

The Zhob Valley Railway was built in two sections between 1916 and 1920. The first section was built from Boston Junction to Muslimbagh during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by the Balochistan Chrome Ore Company and opened in 1916. Muslimbagh had and abundance of

Chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...

and was transported by the railway to

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

production factories in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The second section was built by the

North Western State Railway The North Western State Railway (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 and the ...

as an extension from Muslimbagh to

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

(now Zhob). Work began in 1920 and reached

Qila Saifullah Killa Saifullah ( ps, قلعه سيف الله), also Qilla Saifullah is a city in Killa Saifullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan.) is a district in northwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan. Killa Saifullah is famous for its fertile soil produ ...

in 1927 and Zhob in 1930. The intent to extend the railway from Zhob to

Bannu 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 ...

, but never materialized. At 2224 meters above the sea, Kan Mehtarzai railway station would become one of the highest narrow gauge railway stations in the world. During winter months, the line could be buried by snow.

Closure

The line was closed down in 1991 after successive operational losses and was later dismantled completely.

Revival

The line is proposed to be rebuilt as a broad gauge line under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of a new railway link between Kotla Jam and

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 ...

Stations

* Bostan Junction * Khanai * Churmian * Kan Mehtarzai * Muslimbagh * Kila Saifullah * Alozai * Badinzai * Zhob

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Zhob Valley Railway Survey
c early 1890s, page 98 ''Some Rambles of a Sapper'' by Brigr-Genl. Herbert Henry Austin. 1928 Hathi Trust Digital Library *L/PS/11/168, P 994/1920; “P 994/1920 Baluchistan: communications in the Zhob valley; proposal for a broad-gauge railway from Hindubagh to Fort Sandeman”; 1 Sep 1919-23 Mar 1920 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhob Valley Railway Closed railway lines in Pakistan Railway lines opened in 1929 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Pakistan Railway lines closed in 1986 Railway stations on Zhob Valley Railway Line