Sind Railway

The Sind Railway Company occurs in several documents and records covering the period 1854-60 concerning the construction of a railway from Karachi to Indus. However the correct name and spelling is the "Scinde Railway Company". Examples of the earlier spelling are given in the ‘Records’ section below for interest only.

Refer to Scinde Railway Company for full details and references.

Notes for information

• Not to be confused with the Sind Light Railway Company Ltd that was formed in 1908.
• Not to be confused with references to the Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway which again is an example of incorrect spelling in some documents; correct spelling being the Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway.
• The correctly named Scinde Railway Company was first incorporated by the 'Scinde Railway Act 1855'. That Act was superseded by the 'Scinde Railway Act 1857' which repealed the 1855 Act and provided for the continuation of the railway company. Under the 1857 Act the railway company was empowered, amongst other things, to enter into contracts with the East India Company to construct and operate the Scinde railway (Karachi to Hyderabad on the river Indus) and the Punjaub railway (Multan to Lahore and Amritsar)); and to work a steam boat flotilla on the Indus between Hyderabad and Multan .

Records - for information only

An on-line search of the India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library relating to this “Sind Railway” gives several entries, the most relevant as follows: -

• L/AG/1/1/34/f.271(2); “Sind Railway”; 1854-60
• Z/E/4/25/K46; “Karachi, Railway, line to the Indus to be constructed by the Sind Railway Company”; 1854-55
• Z/E/4/25/R145 ; “Railways, Serampore, Sind Railway Company, construction of line from Karachi to Indus sanctioned terms of agreement with”; 1854-54
• L/AG/1/1/34/f.271(1); “Railway Companies in India Sind”; 1854-60
• Z/E/4/27/R71: “Railways, Contracts, Sind Railway Company with, part of deed forwarded”; 1856