Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway

The Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway (SPDR) was formed from the Sind Railway, the Punjab Railway and the Indus Flotilla, and inherited from its constituents the unfortunate reputation as being the worst managed of the early private companies.

History

IRFCA: Chronology of railways in India, Part 1 (1832 - 1865) and Part 2 (1870 - 1899) state

• 1856 Sind (later Sind, Punjab and Delhi) Railway is formed, a guaranteed railway.
• Early 1860s Sind and Punjab Railway is engaged in construction of a northward line from Karachi, a Lahore-Multan line, and a Lahore-Delhi line.
• 1861 May 13: Karachi-Kotri section of the Scinde Rly. opens to public traffic, the first section in the region that would later become Pakistan.
• 1862 Amritsar-Attari section completed on the route to Lahore.
• 1865 Sind and Punjab Railway's Multan-Lahore-Amritsar line is completed. Works begins on line from Delhi to Amritsar
• 1868 November: Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway's line towards Amritsar from Delhi (Ghaziabad) is open for traffic up to Ambala.
• 1870 October: Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway completes Amritsar-Saharanpur-Ghaziabad line, linking Punjab Railway with the EIR and providing connectivity between Multan and Delhi.

Characteristics

Given its reputation in the 1860s and 1870s for discord, shady and/or inept contractors and financial irregularities, it is surprising that the SPDR did not pass into Government ownership sooner than 31 December 1885. After its purchase, the Government merged the SPDR with the Southern Punjab Railway to form the North Western Railway.

Records

The following is held in the India Office Records at the British Library but has not been included in the index, Z/L/AG/46.

• L/AG/46/17/12 : Lists of staff, 1868-1869

School

The Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway School, Mussoorie. Refer Schools

External links

Photograph of Eagle - Sindh Punjab & Delhi Railway Locomotive, placed in Loco Shop, Mughalpura, Lahore. Ghilzai-panoramio.com