# A few fascinating Pakistan Railway routes



## jis (Aug 11, 2009)

While scanning through the IRFCA (Indian Railways Fan Club of America) Yahoo group I came across a bunch of well written fascinating descriptions of remote rail routes in Pakistan. All of them have some relevance today both because of their proximity to Afghanistan and one because it will form a critical part of the Europe to India direct rail connection. Here are pointers to them for your enjoyment:

1. The Trans-Balochistan Railway

2. Railways Through Bolan Pass

3. Khybar Pass Railway

4. Chapper Rift

5. Khojak Tunnel


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## DET63 (Aug 15, 2009)

From the Bolan Pass link in the OP:



> To get a better perspective of Bolan Pass distances I have considered Sibi as 0km.
> 0km *Sibi 435ft*
> 
> 17km *Mushkaf 469ft*
> ...


I wish that the elevations were given in meters rather than feet, especially since the distances are given in km. This would make it easier to estimate ruling gauges without having to get out my handy-dandy slide rule.


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## DET63 (Aug 15, 2009)

Regarding The Trans-Baluchistan Railway (linked in OP):

The trip is 732 km. Thirty hours is given for the trip (nominally, the time for the Quetta-Zahidan trip is 29:40; however, I don't know if that takes into account time changes, if any, between the two countries (and, IIRC, Iran's time zone is half an hour off the rest of the world). In any case, 732/30=24.4, meaning the train averages 24.4 km/h over its entire trip. That's about 15 mph. Admittedly, however, that does include a border crossing that takes several hours.


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## jis (Aug 16, 2009)

DET63 said:


> Regarding The Trans-Baluchistan Railway (linked in OP):
> The trip is 732 km. Thirty hours is given for the trip (nominally, the time for the Quetta-Zahidan trip is 29:40; however, I don't know if that takes into account time changes, if any, between the two countries (and, IIRC, Iran's time zone is half an hour off the rest of the world). In any case, 732/30=24.4, meaning the train averages 24.4 km/h over its entire trip. That's about 15 mph. Admittedly, however, that does include a border crossing that takes several hours.


That piece of track is not in the best of shape, and is one of the segments that is slated for significant upgrade. One of the biggest problems is sand dunes, and one of the most expensive items is sand dune fixing, which is some process by which they try to nail the sand dunes down into their present position and keep them from moving themselves onto the tracks all the time. The other problem is insurgents in Baluchistan, which has had an ongoing battle with the British when they were around and then with the Pakistanis. Baluchistan has been a very poor and neglected area, and there is hope that with the resurrection of this railroad there will be able to create better job opportunities and creation of wealth or at least reduction of poverty, will tend to address some of the issues that lead to insurrections.

According to the most current Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable that I have it shows in table 5917 that the only scheduled passenger train on the Baluchistan Railway was train 403/404 with only non-AC 1st and Economy class accommodation that ran on the 1st and 15th of the month westbound and 3rd and 17th of the month eastbound, and running time is 30hours +/- 15 minutes. There is a footnote which says "Subject to confirmation. Service believed suspended due to repeated bombings". I suspect that there is going to be a significant military effort to get the container trains through unscathed at least initially. If the operations accrue economic advantage to the area then the situation will to some extent take care of itself as has been observed elsewhere in similar situations.

BTW the time difference between Pakistan and Iran is 30mins, Iran being 30mins behind Pakistan. The border crossing time that is allocated at Mirjawa for 303/304 is 30mins one way and 40 mins the other way. There is a 90 mins stop at Kuhi Taftan in either direction too. The running time between Kuhi Taftan in Pakistan and Mirjawa in Iran is the same in both directions which suggests that the timings in Iran in that table are actually in Pakistan Standard Time and not in Iran Standard Time since the railway to Zahidan is possibly operated by Pakistan Railway (PR) on behalf of Islamic Republic of Iran Railway [iRIR] (Rah-e-Ahan Iran[RAI]).


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## jis (Aug 16, 2009)

DET63 said:


> From the Bolan Pass link in the OP:
> 
> 
> > To get a better perspective of Bolan Pass distances I have considered Sibi as 0km.
> ...


Here you go (with a little help from an iPhone App  ):

0km *Sibi 133m*

17km *Mushkaf 143m*

50km *Peshi 444m*

63km *Ab-i-Gum 657m*

75km *Mach 989m*

89km *Hirok 1387m*

101km *Kolpur 1790m*

117km *Spezand 1786m*

141km *Quetta 1676m*


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## DET63 (Aug 17, 2009)

> 0km *Sibi 1327m*


Sibi 435ft should equal *133m*

In that case, the 17 km to Mushkaf represents a change of only about 10 m, or an average grade of 10:17,000. Of course, things appear to get much steeper further along, and there may be intermediate up- and downgrades not reflected in this calculation.


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## jis (Aug 17, 2009)

DET63 said:


> > 0km *Sibi 1327m*
> 
> 
> Sibi 435ft should equal *133m*


Opps, pilot error. Fixed above.



> In that case, the 17 km to Mushkaf represents a change of only about 10 m, or an average grade of 10:17,000. Of course, things appear to get much steeper further along, and there may be intermediate up- and downgrades not reflected in this calculation.


The ruling gradient of the Bolan Line is 1:25, i.e. 4%, and it is mostly double track now. Incidentally, originally it was built as a Meter Gauge line and converted to Broad Gauge in 1890s.

Here is an excerpt from "Hill Lines of India" circa1935, that is of relevance to a discussion of the Bolan Line:



> Originally built as a metre-gauge line, the Bolan Pass Railway was reconstructed as a broad-gauge section in the 'nineties. It is eighty-six miles long, and the aggregate rise from Sibi, at the foot of the incline, to Kolpur, the summit before reaching Quetta, is 5,463 vertical feet. This great ascent necessitates long stretches graded at 1 in 25 and 1 in 33—throughout both of which the line is double—as well as climbs of 1 in 40 and easier gradients.
> The line, which is steam operated, is solidly built, so that the heaviest engines can run over it. For many years the only Indian broad-gauge "Mallet" compound—having the 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 wheel arrangement—and a heavy 2-6-2 + 2-6-2 Garratt locomotive were used on the Bolan line to supplement the standard superheated "H.G." class 4-8-0 "maids-of-all-work." The latter haul the mails, passenger trains, and goods trains indiscriminately, assisted up the 1 in 25 and 1 in 33 lengths by powerful 2-8-2 side tank locomotives weighing some 95-1/2 tons. They have 20 in. by 26 in. cylinders, 4 ft. 3 in. coupled wheels, a grate area of 30 sq. ft. and a total heating surface of just over 2,000 sq. ft. ; 70-1/2 tons are available for adhesion and 2,200 gallons of water and 6-1/2 tons of coal are carried. Although the Mushkaf-Bolan section is in Baluchistan, the barren, rocky mountains through which it climbs are typical of "the Frontier." Sibi, at its foot, is probably the hottest spot in all India, and the shade temperature on the station platform goes up to 130° F. On the other hand, the Quetta district in winter experiences cold down to 15° of frost. The difference in the climate, atmosphere, and temperature as one travels up this wonderful railway is very marked indeed at almost any time of the year.


In addition the geology that makes the maintenance of reliable service somewhat challenging, not to mention the political issues too. As you can see, the other route to Quetta was completely abandoned after a major flood. But AFAIK service to Quetta from both Karachi and Lahore has been pretty reliable over the Bolan Line. Things get really hairy beyond Quetta on the Baluchistan Railway.

Also, the Bolan Pass Line together with the Khojak Pass Line has been heavily used for supplying the allied forces in Afghanistan via the railhead at Chaman on the Afghan Border (Durand Line), then on by road through Spin Boldak in Afghanistan and on towards Kandahar.


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