Hindubagh-Fort Sandeman Railway Project

The Hindubagh-Fort Sandeman Railway Project to construct a broad gauge(BG) railway from Hindubagh (renamed as Muslimbagh in 1960s) to Fort Sandeman (the capital of Zhob) is mentioned in the India Office Records (IOR) stated in 'Records' below. The proposal, dated 1920, was disallowed by the Government of India(GoI) at this time. The explanation for this decision is given in ‘Records’ below.

The railway connection between Hindubagh and Fort Sandeman (the capital of Zhob) was not completed until 1929 when it was named the Zhob Valley Railway

History

The Khanai-Hindubagh Railway construction had commenced in 1916 and was opened for rail traffic in 1921 as part of North Western Railway(NWR) Northern Frontier 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) network.

In 1927, the Hindubagh to Qila Saifullah section was opened and finally the section up to Zhob was opened in 1929 and known as the Zhob Valley Railway

Records

The India Office Records (IOR) record held at the British Library relating to this railway project gives the following: -

• L/PS/11/168; “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 gives the following explanation for the decision:-

On the 1st September 1919, the outgoing Agent in Baluchistan Mr Dobs, submitted to the Government of India a case for converting the narrow-gauge railway Khanai-Hindubagh Railway to broad gauge. During the war in Afghanistan during the Great War the railway had been of little use due to the nearly all the rolling stock being moved to the Pezu-Tank Railway. His main premise was, although the war was over, that unrest would continue and another war was probably inevitable. One of the problems was supplying the troops during the last campaign, and that a railway would improve this. Chromite had been found in quantities along the Zhob valley and this along with the wool produced would add to the profitability of the railway. The railway would also open up the cultivation of the Musafirpur tract giving it access to markets further afield.

However the response from Government was to disallow the railway on the grounds that “Changes had happened in warfare over the last few years and cavalry were becoming obsolete. Mechanised transport was now more reliable and flexible so a road system thorough out Waziristan was proposed to be built. While marauding tribesmen would have to deal with aerial warfare, instead of the ground based assault, if the incursions continued.”