Sittang Valley State Railway
| Sittang Valley State Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Rangoon to Mandalay | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | ||
| Timeline | ||
| 1884 | First section opened to traffic | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal, Burma | |
| Stations | Kyaukse, Mandalay, Myohaung, Pegu, Pyuntaza, Rangoon, Thazi, Toungoo, Yamethin | |
| System agency | ||
| 1896-1928 | Worked by Burma Railway | |
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
Sittang Valley State Railway, the northern extension was also recorded as Tounghoo-Mandalay Railway.
The Sittang Valley State Railway (SVSR) was the second line to be constructed in Burma also to metre gauge (MG) standards. The first being the Irrawaddy Valley State Railway (IVSR), which had opened in 1877.
The SVSR, shown in Green on map, from Rangoon to Mandalay and the bank of the Irawaddy River, total 388 miles(624km), was completed in Apr 1889. It opened in stages reaching Toungoo, 166 miles(267km), in 1885; a further 108 miles(174km) to Yamethin in 1888; and a further 114 miles(183km) to reach Mandalay and the Irawaddy River in 1889 [1]
History
The line of the SVSR ran from Rangoon 166 miles along the Sittang River via Pegu to Toungoo. Opened in 1884, the line acquired considerable strategic importance the following year at the outbreak of the 3rd Burma War.
With the conclusion of the war and the annexation of Upper Burma, the SVSR was extended from Toungoo to Mandalay, opening in 1889. This section is described in some records as the ‘Tounghoo-Mandalay Railway’
In 1896, management of the SVSR passed to the newly formed ’Burma Railway Company’.
Records
Although there do not appear to be any SVSR staff records held in the India Office Records at the British Library, the names of staff transferred to the successor company may appear in Burma Railway records.
Later History
The SVSR was merged with other State railways in 1896 to form the Burma State Railway (BR):-.
- ‘Sittang Valley State Railway’(SVSR), from Rangoon to Toungoo, became the ‘BR Sittang Section ’
- ‘Irrawaddy Valley State Railway’ (IVSR), from Rangoon to Prome, became the ‘BR Irrawaddy Section’
- ‘Mu Valley State Railway’(MVSR), from Sagaing, on the opposite bank of the Irrawaddy River facing Mandalay was under construction in 1896, later becoming the ‘BR Mu Valley Section ’
Further Information
See Burma Railway
References
- ↑ “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 171 (pdf180) ; Retrieved 18 Apr 2018