Pakistan

Afghan bogies cancelled

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The IANS news story of October 24 Pakistan forfeits $500,000 from Chinese firm says

A Chinese firm that was prevented by Beijing from supplying 300 railway bogies [meaning bogie passenger coaches] that Pakistan had contracted for has lost the Rs.30 million (about $50,000) guarantee money it had paid toward the Rs.1.6 billion contract after Islamabad forfeited the deposit.

Pakistan railway ministry officials were ‘shocked’ to learn that the firm that had been awarded the contract ‘was forcibly stopped by the Chinese government from delivering the consignment’, The News said Wednesday.

…

The contract for the bogies, meant for developing rail links with Afghanistan, has now gone to an Iranian firm.
[more]

Golra Sharif Railway Museum

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

In 2003 Pakistan’s Dawb newspaper published A journey into the past by Amer Sial, describing the Pakistan Railways heritage museum at Golra Sharif near Islamabad (there is a similar document here). The article says A few historic pictures hanging on the outside walls of the platform included one of Afghan King Amir Abdur Rehman at the Rawalpindi Railway Station in 1886. Another one shows the passing of a steam train through the Khyber Pass in the late nineteenth century.

While I haven’t been to check(!), it seems unlikely there is a C19th photo of a train through the Khyber Pass, as the metre-gauge railway along the Kabul River was extant c.1905-1909, and the more famous broad-gauge Khyber Pass railway opened on 3 November 1925.

I’ve never seen any pictures of the short-lived metre-gauge line – if anyone has one, or knows where I might find one, please let me know.

Khyber Pass railway history, and Bostan – Zhob revival?

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The Doodh Patti – My Cup of Tea blog has an illustrated article on the history of the Khyber Pass railway, which almost – but not quite – ran to Afghanistan, stopping just short of the border.

The July 2007 issue of Railway Gazette International reports that Pakistan’s government has authorised the acquisition of 584 acres of land required to rebuild to 1 676 mm gauge the 295 km mothballed 762 mm gauge railway between Bostan and Zhob, and construct a 150 km extension to Dera Ismail Khan. This would cut 400 km from the distance from Quetta to Peshawar by rail.

If it ever happens, and who knows how likely that it, this line would be broadly parallel(-ish) to the Afghan border. Pakistan Railways has previously costed the project at Rs 6bn.

Maglev to Kandahar?

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Well, maybe not. That would just be silly. But today’s Pakistan Times reports that President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday [2007-03-03] called for fast development of the Pakistan Railways on modern lines to provide economical travel to the people, swift movement of goods and to create linkages with neighbouring countries.

He said the current target of increasing speed of trains up to 140 km/hour was not enough. “Today the world is moving on to magnetic levitation trains and monorails for mass transport, we need to go for these,” he added.

The President referring to his vision for the Pakistan Railways spoke of plans to link Chamman to Kandahar in Afghanistan and to build an ambitious rail track from Havelian to the Khunjerab Pass to connect with the Chinese mainline.

“Both the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have expressed desire to join this rail link as it will provide them an access to the Gwadar Port,” he said.

Railway to Spin Boldak

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Club-Feroviar reported at the end of January:

Pakistan Railways (PR) are ready for expanding and improving railway links with neighbours countries, Iran and Afghanistan, linking Chaman to Spin Boldak and Quetta to Taftan, according to the Minister of Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The Minister said PR has made all necessary preparations for linking Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan and added it is waiting for the approval of Afghanistan’s President, Hamid Karzai. Railway links between Quetta and Taftan are also taken in consideration, the Minister going to leave next month in Iran for to discuss this project with Afghan officials.

Afghanistan May Build Its First International Rail Link in 2006

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

A 3 May 2005 news report from Marc Wolfensberger at Bloomberg

The government of Afghanistan plans to build its first international railway, linking the former Taliban stronghold city of Kandahar in the south, to Pakistan, said Public Works Minister Shorah Ali Safari.

Safari said in an interview today that he submitted a proposal to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet 10 days ago and “hopes”‘ the project will be approved this year for construction to start in 2006. He didn’t elaborate on financing.

…

“Time has changed,”‘ said Safari, 60, speaking in the Iranian city of Mashad. “Trains are no longer used to invade countries — they’ll boost our economy and benefit our people.”‘

… Engineering studies on the planned Afghanistan railway — running 100 kilometers between Kandahar, the former base of the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, to the Pakistani border town of Chamman — have been completed, the minister said.

Construction work should be “relatively easy”‘ since the track will cross “plain territory, with no mountains and thus no tunnels to be built,” Safari said. He declined to give a time for completion.

… Beyond Pakistan, Afghanistan has “ambitious”‘ plans to develop its railway network, said the minister, who taught engineering at Kabul University in the 1960s. Feasibility studies are under way for a rail link between the western city of Herat to Iran and Turkmenistan. Another project foresees a railtrack between the northwestern city of Mazar-I-sharif and Uzbekistan, he said.

… He didn’t give details about financing the projects. He said he hasn’t contacted international financial institutions such as the World Bank, nor international private lenders.