Zhob Valley Railway

The Zhob Valley Railway was part of North Western Railway(NWR) Northern Frontier 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) network; finally extended to Zhob in 1929

During the First World War, a railway line was laid Khanai (30 km north of Quetta) to Hindubagh (renamed as Muslimbagh in 1960s). Hindubagh had Chrome mines, which was used in munitions of First World War. The railway line at that time was a private siding for the Balochistan Chrome Ore Company. The work started on Khanai-Hindubagh Railway in 1916 and was opened for rail traffic in 1921.

In 1920 the Hindubagh-Fort Sandeman Railway Project to construct a broad gauge(BG) railway from Hindubagh to Fort Sandeman (the capital of Zhob) was put forward but was disallowed by the Government of India(GoI) at this time - see the 'Records' below.

In 1927, the Hindubagh to Qila Saifullah section was opened and finally the section up to Zhob was opened in 1929. It had been intended to extent the railway from Zhob to Bannu, but this never eventuated.

Its length of three hundred kilometres made it the longest Narrow Gauge line in the subcontinent. At 2224 metres above the sea, Kan Mehtarzai station was one of the highest Narrow Gauge railway station in the world. During midwinter, the line could be buried by snow.

External links

Historical books online

• 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

Records

An on-line search of the India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library relating to this railway project gives the following: -

• 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, disallowed by Government of India”; 1 Sep 1919-23 Mar 1920

This record has not been examined and may provide further information.

Further Information

See North Western Railway