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File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [295v] (595/1150)
The record is made up of 1 volume (573 folios). It was created in 5 Dec 1921-28 Jan 1931. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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2
network of British interests, both political anci economic, involved in that region
In certain circumstances such a railway may constitute a direct threat to our
possessions and dependencies in the East; in other circumstances it may serve to
consolidate our whole position and as an invaluable guarantee of its permanent
security. That depends on whether the main axis of the 1 eisian railway system
runs north-south or west-east. In my despatch No. 144 of the 2nd April, 1923 I
examined the question of alignment m some detail, and concluded unhesitatingly i n
favour of the west-east axis; it was a considerable satisfaction to me to learn from
the reply returned to that despatch by the late JVlaiquess Guizon of Kedleston that
His Majesty’s Government were in substantial agreement with those conclusions.
Subsequent reflection has only served to strengthen my convictions in this regard
and to enhance the significance of the problem. I am not of course speaking of the
Persian railway as an isolated factor, but as a sector, and a very essential one, of a
transcontinental South Asiatic trunk line, linking up India with the eastern basin
of the Mediterranean via Bagdad, and with Western Europe via Bagdad and
Constantinople.
The project is a vast one, and it is one of consummate interest to the British
Empire. Its execution would serve the following purposes
1. Create direct rail communication with India,
2. Be a strategical counter to the two lines of lateral communication, the trans-
Siberian railway and the Caucasus and trans-Caspian railways, which
are the backbone of Russia's military power in the East.
3. Create a powerful barrier against Russian penetration southwards through
Persia,
4. Confirm Persia in her natural status as a South Asiatic State; enable her to
fulfil her historical role of a link between East and West; and guarantee
her so far as can be against being drawn into the Russian orbit.
5. Set up a stabilising factor in this part of the world, both strategically and
economically.
6. Encourage economic development, in which British industry and enterprise
is bound to be interested, and is well equipped for extensive participation.
I beg leave to express the opinion that, if these conclusions on due examination
are found to be sound, the advancement of railway construction in Persia should be
adopted as a principle of British policy.
I think that the moment has been reached when the question should be thoroughly
sifted and a decision of principle taken for two particular reasons : Firstly, because
the economic dilapidation of Russia considerably diminishes the risk of effective
opposition from that quarter; secondly, because the grant of the Mosul oil concession
to the Turkish Petroleum Company makes it well nigh a certainty that a railway
will be built from a pjort on the east shores of the Mediterranean to the banks of the
Tigris, which will constitute the first sector of the eventual line to India on an
alignment most suitable to British interests.
Postulating a decision favourable to these contentions, the question of ways and
means arises, and I beg leave to express my view T s in this connection also. If the
answer to my suggestions regarding the question of policy be in the affirmative, the
desirability of taking the line of least resistance likely to lead to the achievement of
our purpose will hardly be denied. I consider that the actual project could best be
carried out most advantageously and with the minimum risk of friction by an Anglo-
American group.
In saying this I am not unmindful of the prior interest in railway construction
of a British group—the Persian Railway Syndicate, It may be taken as certain
that the chances of this syndicate doing business with the Persian Government are
so meagre as to be practically negligible; insistence on the letter of their unratifie
option would merely defeat the main object under discussion. There are other ways
of satisfying their claim. I think that before long I shall be able to secure a settle
ment of the question of their survey expenses. The Persian Government are already
casting about for means to pay them off and the American adviser recognises tne
validity of the claim. Their interest in the matter of construction should be merged
m the Anglo-American group, and some arrangement similar to that between e
Angio-Persia 11 Oil Company and the Standard Oil Company as regards tiie
Khoshtana rights ought to be capable of negotiation. . ^ i
The Anglo-American group ought to have as its basis the Anglo-Persian 1
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About this item
- Content
This volume contains papers relating to the construction of the Trans-Persian Railway. It contains material relating to:
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s attempt to enlist the aid of Rabbi Joseph Saul Kornfeld, the United States Envoy to Persia [Iran], and the British Foreign Office’s subsequent unfavourable attitude towards the Syndicate
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s proposal to invite American companies for the construction of railways in Persia
- The concessions for the Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]-Khanakin [Khanaqin] and Khanakin-Tehran railways
- The proposed railway from Khanakin to Tehran and the estimated cost for the three principal divisions of the railway
- The restrictions of the British Government on the Persian Railway Syndicate’s grant of a loan to the Persian Government
- The possibility of a ‘fusion of interests’ between the Persian Railway Syndicate and the Stronach Dutton System of Road Rails Limited
- The possible extension of the American Chester Group’s railway concession from Turkey into Persia
- The plans of the Prime Minister of Persia [Rezā Khān Sardār Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Sepah] for a railway line extending from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] to Khorramabad, Dizful [Dezful], and Sultanabad [Arak] to Tehran
- The endeavour of an American group to obtain a concession for a line from Mohammerah to Khorramabad and Tehran
- The expenditures of the Persian Railway Syndicate for the Khanakin-Tehran and the Mohamerah-Khoramabad surveys
- The possibility of forming a Railway Syndicate with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and Standard Oil Company
- The Persian Government’s decision to carry out a survey of the Mohammerah-Tehran-Bandar-i Gez [Bandar-i Gaz] railway line with the assistance of a German engineer
- The Consortium industriel pour l’Orient’s proposal to build a railway connecting Meshed [Mashhad] to the Tripoli-Homs Line
- The preference of the British Army Council and the Air Council for an East-West rather than a North-South railway in Persia for strategic reasons
- The exploitation of coal and iron deposits in Mazanderan [Mazandaran] for the construction of railways in Persia, and the concerns of Russia about a Trans-Persian Railway connecting the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to the Caspian Sea
- The Act of the Persian Majlis [Parliament] for the construction of the Persian Trunk Railway
- The Persian Majlis’s Passage of the Bill for Railway Survey and Construction
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of the Railway Construction Bill, from Mohammerah and Bandar-i Gez to Tehran
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of a law for constructing a railway between Khor Musa-Mohammerah-Bandar-i Gez;
- The Persian Majlis’s authorisation of the Minister of Public Work to employ foreign experts for the construction of the Railway;
- The inauguration of the Bandar-i Gaz-Tehran-Ahwaz Railway in the presence of the Shah of Persia [Rezā Shāh Pahlavi]
- The British concerns and preference for a British rather than an American firm to build the Southern Section of the Railway
- The passage of the Railway Survey Law by the Persian Majlis and the contract between the Persian Government and the American company Ulen, and two German companies, Philipp Holzmann and Julius Berger-Siemens Union [sic., Siemens Bauunion] to carry out a complete survey of the Railway
- The contract between the Persian Government, represented by Minister of Public Works [General Ḥabib Allāh Khān Shaybānī], and the Persian Railway Syndicate, represented by MD Carrel and MNS Mavrogordato
- The contracts between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate for the constructions of ports at Bandar-i Qays and Khor Musa (Bandar-i Shahpur) and a dam over the Karun River at Ahwaz
- The plans for building the line from Bandar Shapur north of Ahwaz, and revival of the line from Hamadan to Tehran
- The construction of the railway lines from Bandar Shah and Khor Musa, the diversion of German resources to the construction of electrical and cement works, and the postponement of building a port at Khor Musa
- The reservations of the British Minister in Persia [Robert Henry Clive] about the construction of the Railway as opposed to motor roads in Persia, and the subsidisation of the enterprise through the tea and sugar monopolies
- The increase in the cost of the Southern Section of the Railway and predicted opposition of the Persian Government
- The visit by the Shah of Persia to the Southern Section of the Railway, his unfavourable impression of the state of the railway, and the American Minister in Persia’s advice to Ulen and Company to stop working on the railway in case of difficulties with the Persian Government
- The cancellation of the contract between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate over delayed payments, and the agreement between the German and Ulen groups within the Syndicate to work on the Northern and Southern sections of the Trans-Persian Railway respectively
- The Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s concerns about the Railway providing greater access and mobility to the Russians
- The dispute between the Persian Government and the German-American syndicate for the construction of the Railway
- The negotiations between the Persian Government and the German companies Julius Berger Konsortium, Philipp Holzmann, and Siemens Bauunion for the construction of the Northern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway
- The possible takeover by the Batignolles Construction Company of the building of the Southern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway from the American and British companies Ulen and Company and Stewart and McDonnell
- The Persian Government’s appointment of Suzuki Hajime from the Japanese Railway Department’s Engineering Bureau
- The breakdown of negotiations between the Batignolles Construction Company and the Government of Persia, and the latter’s decision to proceed with the construction of the remaining sections of the railway
- The proposals of the Batignolles Construction Company to the Government of Persia in the absence of a contract
- The extension of the Southern Section of the Railway from Khor Musa to Dizful, Hamadan and Kazvin [Qazvin], and the Northern Section from Tehran to Sari and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
The volume also includes the following sketch maps:
- A sketch map of the Trans-Persian Railway, from Khor Musa to Sari and the coast of the Caspian Sea, showing the ‘Line Completed’, ‘Line Surveyed’, and ‘Division between the Northern and Southern Sections’ (f 14)
- A sketch map of the Northern Section of the Railway, showing the routes to Pahlavi, Semnan, and Balfurush [Barfurush], with a second map of the Southern Section, showing alternative routes and termini, running either from Mohammerah or Khor Musa to Dizful and Hamadan (f 156)
- A sketch map showing the existing and projected railways in Persia (f 204).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (573 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 357 (Persia: Railways) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/793-794. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 573; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/794
- Title
- File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:13v, 15r:18v, 19v:23v, 24v:31v, 35v:38v, 39v:42v, 45v:48v, 56v:57v, 58v:62v, 64r:98v, 99v:106v, 110r:117v, 118v:122v, 123v, 125r:126v, 128r:148v, 150v:155v, 157r:163v, 165r:169v, 171r:173v, 175r:181v, 182v:188v, 190r:203v, 205r:206v, 208r:226r, 227v:266v, 268r:489v, 490v, 494v, 498v, 502v, 507v:523v, 524v:526v, 534v:544v, 545v:546v, 547v, 548v:552v, 553v:555v, 557v:572v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence