Kalabagh Bridge
The Kalabagh Bridge opened in 1931 crossing the River Indus at Kalabagh . The bridge extended the ‘Mari Indus Railway’ which had opened in 1913 and originally named the ‘Trans Indus (Kalabagh-Bannu) Railway ’.
The bridge carried a combined road/rail single track narrow gauge 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG). At this time the line was renamed the ‘Trans Indus (Mari Indus-Kalabagh-Bannu) Railway’ .
It would appear the bridge section was abandoned soon after opening and the bridge used only for road traffic
The road bridge fell into disrepair and reported as closed before 2009 [1].
Background
The following was written in c.1929 W.D.Cruikshank, S.O.W. North Western Railway in a report “Railway Bridge over the River Indus at Kalabagh”:-
‘The construction of a bridge over the Indus at or near Kalabagh was considered for many years. The first surveys were carried out in 1888, followed by investigations from 1919 to 1924. Finally in 1927 the project was approved. No provision for roadway was made . The bridge carried a single line railway. The bridge will connect the broad gauge(BG) system of the railway to the East of the Indus with the 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) to the west. With the completion of the bridge an alternative and direct route is available from Lahore to Waziristan. Commercially and strategically the bridge will play an important role.’ [2]
Further Information
See page Mari Indus Railway
References
- ↑ Dawn News – ‘Kalabagh bridge a victim of official neglect’, 10 Apr 2009 ; Retrieved 27 Nov 2020
- ↑ Reproduced in the undated review “Kalabagh Railway Bridge”; Retrieved 29 Apr 2016
