Scinde Railway Company

Scinde Railway Company

Spelling Note

• The spellings used for town names in the 1850-60 is variable. We have given the name as stated in the documents of that time and with the later name in (brackets).

Background

The following is extracted from ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by John Brunton, Chief Resident Engineer on the Scinde Railway, 1856-62

In 1849 the Government recognised the necessity of introducing railways into India and the ‘East Indian Railway’ and the ‘Great Indian Peninsula Railway’ were established under the Guarantee system to open up the districts having the two ports of India, Calcutta and Bombay, as outlets for their produce. The success in raising capital was at once evident and attention turned to the Indus Valley route having Kurrachee(Karachi) as its sea terminus.

A concession was granted to Mr W P Andrew in 1855 and the ‘Scinde Railway Company’ was formed under the Guarantee system. The concession included under its management the line from Kurrachee(Karachi) to Hyderabad upon the Indus; the line from Moultan(Multan) to Lahore and Umritisir(Amritsar) and a flotilla of steam boats to complete the through communication.

File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines

Three distinct capital sums were originally raised under the following titles:-

• The ‘Scinde Railway’
• The ‘Punjaub Railway’
• The ‘Indus Steam Flotilla’

"The accounts of these sections were kept perfectly distinct, while economy and harmonious working are secured by the concentration of the management in the hands of one board of directors"

In 1862 another concession was granted to the the ‘Scinde Railway Company’

• The ‘Delhi Railway’, being an extension of the line from Umritisir(Amritsar) to Delhi, where it will form a junction to the northern terminus of the ‘East Indian Railway

Details of each concession

The details and lengths of these sections were respectively :-
See separate pages for further information

• ‘Scinde Railway’ from Kurrachee(Karachi) to Kotree(Kotri) on the Indus, 108 miles(174km); construction commenced Apr 1858, opened May 1861
• ‘Punjaub Railway’ from Moultan(Multan) to Umritisir(Amritsar via Khanewal and Lahore, 238 miles opened in stages and was completed by Apr 1865
• ‘Indus Steam Flotilla’ from Kotree(Kotri) to Moultan(Multan), 570 miles(917km), this taking account of the windings of the river which is some 100miles(160km) greater than that by land. This service linked the Scinde and the Pujaub Railways and continued until the ‘Indus Valley State Railway’was fully opened on 27 Oct 1878.
• ‘Delhi Railway’ from Umritisir(Amritsar) to Delhi, 305 miles(490km); finance raised Jun 1863; line opened in stages from 1867 and finally completed Oct 1870 linking to the East Indian Railway at Ghaziabad(just east of Delhi ) thus providing a connection between Karachi and Delhi

Later Developments

In 1870, the ‘Scinde Railway Company’ was amalgamated with the ‘Punjab Railway’ and ‘Delhi Railway’ Companies and renamed as the ‘Scinde, Punjaub and Delhi Railway Company’. This was covered by the ‘Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act‘ of 1869 . See Footnote

In 1886, the contracts expired and responsibility for the railway was transferred entirely to the Government of India(GoI). The GoI merged the ‘Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway’ with other smaller state-owned railways to create the ‘North Western Railway’.

Footnote

• The spelling of Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway is variable. Scinde and Punjaub are the spellings adopted in the legislation - see "Government Statute Law Repeals 2012" pages 134-135, paragraphs 3.78-3.83

Further Information

Up to 1870 see Scinde Railway, Indus Steam Flotilla, Punjaub Railway
1870-1886 see Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway
From 1886 see North Western Railway