Lahore-Karachi Mainline

Lahore-Karachi Mainline

See also North Western Railway - Lines operated and worked

This NWR Mainline connecting Lahore to Karachi , 756 miles(1217km) comprised:-

• ‘Lahore via Raiwind to Khanewa Section’, 177 miles(285km), was the Punjaub Railway opened in 1865, merged to form SP&DR 1870, becoming NWR 1886.
  • ‘Raiwind-Bhatinda Branch Line’, 88 miles(141km), from Raiwind via Kasur to Hussainiwala (on the northern bank of the River Sutlej), opened 1883 by SP&DR. The Empress Bridge over the river was completed 1887 by NWR to Ferozepore and extended in 1899 to Bhatinda
• ‘Khanewal to Lodhran Section’, 56 miles(90km), opened by NWR 1909, reducing the route length by 29 mile(46km) and making the former mainline, which had opened by IVSR in 1865, into the ‘Khanewal-Lodhran (via Sher Shar) Chord Line’ (see below)
  • ‘Khanewal-Lodhran (via Sher Shar) Chord Line’, 85 miles(136km), from Khanewal to Multan, 1865; to Muzaffarabad , 1870; to Lodhran, 1878, formerly the IVSR Mainline, became NWR 1886. Became a NWR Chord Line In 1909 with the opening of the 29 mile shorter ‘Khanewal to Lodhran Section’ of the ‘Lahore to Karachi Mainline’ (see above).
  • ‘Lodhran to Rohri section’, 225 miles(362km), opened 1878 by Indus Valley State Railway(IVSR), which became NWR 1886
  • ’Sukkur Bandar Branch Line’, 1.5 miles(2.4km), from Sukkur Main on the ‘Lahore to Karachi Mainline’ to Sukkur Bandar, opened by IVSR in 1878
• ’Rohri-Kotri Section’, 189 miles(304km), from Rohrivia Hyderabad to Kotri was completed in 1900 with the opening of the Kotri Bridge over the river Indus; making the former mainline, which had opened by by Sind-Pishin State Railway (SP&DR) into the ‘Kotri-Rohri (via Ruk) Branch Line’ (see below)
• ‘Rohri-Kotri (via Ruk) Branch Line’ from Sukkur via Ruk, Larkhana, and Sehwan to Kotri, opened 1878 by Sind-Pishin State Railway (SP&DR) which became NWR 1886. This line was formerly the mainline until the opening of the Kotri Bridge in 1900 to complete the NWR Mainline ’Rohri-Kotri Section’ (see above)
  • ‘Phulji Branch Line’, 3 miles(5km), from Phulji to Puranadera, opened as a branch to the ’Kotri-Rohri (via Ruk) Section’ opened by SP&DR in 1882; with short extension by NWR, 1902
• ’Kotri to Karach Section’, 108 miles(174km), was completed in 1861 by Scinde Railway, which became SP&DR 1870 and NWR 1886