Carwar and Hooblee Railway Survey
Carwar and Hooblee Railway Survey
alternative spelling
Karwar and Hubli Railway Survey
The ‘Annual Report on Railways in India, 1871-72’ [1] lists the ‘Carwar and Hooblee Railway’ as a railway ‘being constructed by the Government without the intervention of companies’ as a metre gauge(MG) with a line length of 144 miles (232km).
“Carwar and Hooblee Railway, to Gudduck. Repeated surveys have been made of this line, and the difficulties, while still serious, are less than they were first expected to be, but the question of its construction is still under consideration. The railway reaches the top of the Ghats, at a level of 2,200 feet (670mtr) above the sea by works extending over 24 miles(38km) ... with a continuous incline, 4 miles(6.4km) in length, of 1 in 40 ...”
The ‘Annual Report on Railways in India, 1872-73’ [2] the line from Carwar (Karwar ) via Hooblee (Hubli) to Gudduck(Gadag)}, 252 miles (406km) as “Surveyed, but in abeyance” and this same comment applied for the subsequent Reports for 1873/74, 1874/75 and 1875/76.
The ‘Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908’ [3] states :-
“Karwar is the only safe harbour between Bombay and Cochin during all seasons of the year. A proposal was strenuously urged to connect Karwar by a railway with the interior, so as to provide a seaport for the southern cotton Districts. Between 1867 and 1874 the hope that a railway from Karwar to Hubli would be sanctioned raised the value of building sites at Karwar, and led to the construction of many warehouses and dwellings. The scheme was finally abandoned in favour of the line through Portugese territory to Marmagoa. The trade of Karwar has markedly decreased since the opening of this railway.”
This alternative line eventually opened in 1888 and named the ‘West of India Portuguese Railway’, after several delays and negotiations and delay see separate pages
The Karwar to Hubli section was not constructed
The Hubli to Gadag section opened in July 1885 as part of the ‘Southern Mahratta Railway Mainline Dharwar-Hospet Section’ [4].
Fibis Comment
The repeated surveys mentioned in the text would have included:-
the Karwar-Dharwar Light Railway Proposal 1858
and Beitkal Harbour to Hyderabad Railway Proposal 1858.
In the event none of these proposals were adopted.
References
- ↑ ‘Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons Vol 19, 1872’ “Annual Report on Railways in India for 1871-72; Carwar and Hooblee Railway” Paras 80 and 87, page 37, pdf 597; Retrieved 26 Jun 2020
- ↑ British Library ‘India Office Records L/PARL/2/100 “Railways in India for the year 1872-73” by Juland Danvers , Government Director of the Indian Railways - presented to both Houses of Parliament’ by HM Command. Extract from Annual Report 1872-73; Para 22
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 66. ; Retrieved 27 June 2020
- ↑ “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 86 (pdf94) ; Retrieved 27 June 2020
