Burma Railway
| Burma Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1896 | Burma Railway Company formed to work existing state lines | |
| 1928 | Nationalisation | |
| 1937 | Separation of Burma from India | |
| 1948 | Union of Burma created | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1896 | Irrawaddy Valley State Railway | |
| 1896 | Sittang Valley State Railway | |
| 1896 | Mu Valley State Railway | |
| 1923-1927 | Madaya Light Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Rangoon | |
| Workshops | Insein | |
| Major Stations | Mandalay, Pegu, Prome, Toungoo | |
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1928 | Burma Railways | |
| 1989 | Myanmar Railways | |
| System mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 1340 miles (1905) 2049 miles (1943) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| n/a | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
Formed as a private company, in 1896 Burma Railway (BR) took over the three metre gauge railways operating in Burma under a guarantee provided by the Government of India.
History
Following the merger of the Irrawaddy Valley State Railway, the Sittang Valley State Railway and the Mu Valley State Railway to form BR, construction continued on various projects until 1924 when the extent of line exceeded 1800 miles. From 1906, BR was managed by Walter Home who repeated his previous success at the helm of the Jodhpur-Bikaner Railway, another metre gauge line. (1)
In 1928, BR was dissolved and the railways in Burma were brought once again under direct government control, being renamed Burma Railways. In 1937, Burma was split from India and political control passed to the newly-formed Burma Office.
The infamous Thailand-Burma Railway, constructed between 1942-1943 by Allied POWs under the direction of their Japanese captors, is at present outside of the scope of this article.
India-Burma Railway Link Proposals
- Assam-Burma Connection Railway Project. A series of proposals from 1892 onwards to link India and Burma by rail; eventually all were dropped.
Extensions to Burma Railway
- Alon-Saingbyin Railway. Section of BR network, opened before 1925
- Moulmein-Ye Railway. Section of BR network, opened sometime between 1919 and 1929.
- Pyinmana-Taungdwingyi Railway. Section of BR network, opened sometime between 1919 and 1929.
- Southern Shan States Railway. Branch of BR constructed shortly before 1914-18 war
- Tounghoo-Mandalay Railway. Opened 1890-91 as an extension of BR
Connection Line to Burma Railway
- Burma Mines Railway. Opened 1907, private NG railway to transport locally mined silver; connecting to Lashio branch of BR; independent until after 1947
Records
The following records are held at the British Library in the India Office Records (but not indexed in Z/L/AG/46).
- L/AG/46/6/17-18 : List of employees (1898-1921).
- L/F/10/250 : Half-yearly Staff lists (1922-1928).
External links
"History of Rail Transport in Burma" Wikipedia.
