imported>Colonies Chris: minor fixes, replaced: 1912-14, → 1912–14, (2), broad gauge railway → broad-gauge railway, {{RailGauge| → {{track gauge|, Delhi- → Delhi– (7), Broad Gauge → broad gauge (5), Indian Railway → Indian Railways

2020-10-29T14:13:51Z

minor fixes, replaced: 1912-14, → 1912–14, (2), broad gauge railway → broad-gauge railway, {{RailGauge| → {{track gauge|, Delhi- → Delhi– (7), Broad Gauge → broad gauge (5), Indian Railway → Indian Railways

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox company
|name = Southern Punjab Railway
|logo =
|type =
|foundation = 1895
|location_city = Bathinda
|location_country = [[British Raj|British India]]
|location =
|locations = 
|key_people =
|area_served = [[Malerkotla State]], [[Jind State]], [[Patiala State]] & [[Nabha State]]
|industry = [[Railways]]
|products =
|services = [[Rail transport]]
|revenue =
|operating_income =
|net_income =
|num_employees =
|parent =
|divisions =
|subsid =
|caption =
|homepage =
|dissolved = 1930
|footnotes =
|intl =
}}

The '''Southern Punjab Railway (SPR)''' was a {{track gauge|1676mm|lk=on}} [[broad-gauge railway]] built to provide a more direct connection from [[Karachi]] to [[Delhi]] by linking to the original [[Indus Valley State Railway]] at [[Samasata]] and avoiding the [[North Western Railway]] loop via [[Lahore]].{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

==History==

The Southern Punjab Railway Company was formed in 1895 with [[Bradford Leslie]] as Chairman. Under contract with the Secretary of State for India, Leslie and his partners formed the company to build a BG railway from [[Delhi]] to [[Samasata]] about 400 miles to the west. [[Horace Bell]] was the consulting engineer for SPR in London for the construction.

The main line ran northwest from [[Delhi]] to [[Bathinda]] then southwest through Bahawalpur State to [[Samasata]], a total distance of 402 miles (643 km). Several extension lines (Jullunder, Sutlej Valley etc.) extended the length to 502 miles(803 km) in 1905. In 1873, [[metre-gauge]] [[Bathinda–Rewari line|Delhi–Rewari line]] from the Delhi–Rewari section of [[Rajputana–Malwa Railway]] was extended to Hisar,<ref name=gaz1>{{cite web| url=http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf| title=Gazetteer of India: Haryana, Hisar, pp.127–128| author=Haryana Gazetteers Organization| publisher=Controller of Printing and Stationery| location=Chandigarh| date=1987| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501213030/http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf| archive-date=1 May 2014| df=dmy-all}}</ref> and then to [[Bhatinda]] in 1883–84, connecting it all the way to Karachi via [[Delhi–Fazilka line|Delhi–Karachi line]].<ref name=hisar>{{cite web| url= http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf| title= Gazetteer of India, Haryana, Hisar| at= Communications, page 135| publisher= Haryana Government| access-date= 10 May 2014| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140501213030/http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf| archive-date= 1 May 2014| df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php/Rajputana-Malwa_State_Railway |title = Rajputana Malwa State Railway| website=fibis| access-date = 10 May 2014}}{{unreliable source?|date=October 2016}}</ref>

The railway was worked by the North Western State (NWR) Railway (see "Records L/AG/46/34"). The railway eventually became part of [[Indian Railways]].

==Network==
The listings below are generally based on the "Administration Report on Railways 1918"<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n121/mode/1up "Administration Report on Railways 1918" pages 120–126 (pdf 129–134); Retrieved 18 Dec 2016]</ref> with page numbers (and pdf pages) noted at the end of each entry.

'''Mainline and branches''' [[broad gauge|BG]] Total line length 426 miles (685 km). Page 121 (pdf 130)
*Delhi–Samasata main line, [[Delhi]] via [[Narwana]], [[Jakhal]], [[Bathinda]] to [[Samasata]], opened 1897, 399 miles (642 km)
**Delhi Brewery branch line, opened 1909, 0.8 mile (1.3 km)
**Narwana-Kaithal branch line, opened 1899, from [[Narwana]] to [[Kaithal]], 23 miles (37 km)
**Jind City branch line, from [[Jhind]] Junction to Jhind City, opened 1916, 2.5 miles (4 km)

'''Jullundur–Doab Extension Railway''' [[broad gauge|BG]] Total line length 130 miles (209 km). Page 123 (pdf132)
*Jullunder–Ferozepore Mainline, [[Jullunder]] via Karpurthala, Sultanpur Lodi, Lohian Khas, Gidarpind, Makhu to [[Ferozepore]] Cantonment, opened 1912–14, 73 miles (117 km)
**’Phillaur branch line’, Lohian Khas to [[Phillaur]], opened 1913, 39 miles (63 km)
**’Jullundur–Nakodar Chord Railway' known as the ‘Nakodar branch line’, [[Jullunder]] to [[Nakodar]], opened 1914, 19 miles (30 km)

'''Ludhiana Extension Railway''' [[broad gauge|BG]] Total line length 152 miles (244 km). Page 123(pdf132)
*Ludhiana-Ferozepore line, [[Ludhiana]] to [[Ferozepore]], opened 1905, 77 miles (124 km)
*Ferozepore–MacLeod Ganj line, [[Ferozepore]] to McLeod Ganj (a suburb of [[Dharamsala]]), opened 1906, 75 miles (120 km)

'''Sutlej Valley Extension Railway''' [[broad gauge|BG]] Total line length 208 miles (335 km). Pages 124-5 (pdf135-6)
*Kasur-Lodhran Railway, [[Kasur]] to [[Lodhran]], opened 1910, closed and dismantled 1917–18, 208 miles (335 km)

'''Ludhiana–Dhuri–Jakhal Railway''' [[broad gauge|BG]] Total line length 79 miles (127 km). Page 115 (pdf124)
*[[Ludhiana]] via [[Dhuri]] to [[Jakhal]], opened 1901. Managed, maintained and worked by [[North Western Railway]] (NWR) under an Agreement with the [[Princely states|Princely]] [[Malerkotla State|Maler Kotla State]] Durbar and the [[Jhind State]] Durbars. The line was used by SPR linking the Delhi–Samasata Mainline at Jakhal with 'Ludhiana Extension Railway' at [[Ludhiana]].<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=IAMS_VU2 "British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue" - Search]; Retrieved Jan 2016</ref>

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
* {{PM20|FID=co/072967|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

[[Category:Transport in Bathinda]]
[[Category:Defunct railway companies of India]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:History of Punjab, India]]

Southern Punjab Railway - Revision history

imported>Colonies Chris: minor fixes, replaced: 1912-14, → 1912–14, (2), broad gauge railway → broad-gauge railway, {{RailGauge| → {{track gauge|, Delhi- → Delhi– (7), Broad Gauge → broad gauge (5), Indian Railway → Indian Railways