Trans Indus (Kalabagh-Bannu) Railway
The Trans Indus (Kalabagh-Bannu) Railway (KBR) was a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) line, the first section between Kalabagh and Bannu, 89 miles(142km) opened in 1913 [1].
The line initially ran from Kalabagh where there was a ferry over the Indus River (which was replaced by a bridge in 1931) to Bannu at the head of the Tochi Valley, which was the main route from India into Afghanistan. Construction of the line had commenced by 1911 using equipment on loan from the Light Military Reserve Railway - see separate page for information [2].
In 1913 locomotives were purchased from the Kalka-Simla Railway for further construction work:-
- ‘Tank Extension Branch Line’ opened in May 1916. This extension from Laki Marwat via Pezu was a further 46 miles(73km) to reach Tank.
- ‘Tank to Kaur and Khorgi Branch Line’ was constructed from 1919 and opened in early 1920
- ‘Tank to Dera Ismail Khan Portable Railway’ constructed in 1920 - see separate page for information
The line was worked by, and finally merged into, the North Western Railway(NWR) with ownership of the line being passed over in Apr 1921
Further Information
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 129; Retrieved 3 Dec 2017
- ↑ “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry IA05 page ....