File 930/1912 'Mohammerah - Khoremabad Railway' [‎160v] (327/396)

Aliabad-Firuzabad section of the Bunder Abbas
Lar-Jahrum-Shiraz route. It was observed i
their letter that the question of communications
between Bushire and Shiraz had been touched upo
in the evidence® before the Sub-t ommittee ol
Imperial Defence. , i
After some correspondence the I reasury agiec
to share equally the expenditure involved, viz.,
Its 2 000 (Vi'il. bs. 8 d.) for contingent expenses,
and Rs. 753 annas 12 a month (603L a year) lor
Lieutenant Wilson’s salary, and the Semetary o
State informed the Government ol India that thei
proposal had been sanctioned. , , ,
Lieutenant Wilson, it may here be explaineil, ha
before this prepared a memorandum, dated the 1 i
August 1907, on a proposed railway from Bundei
Abbas to Shiraz. The following extract from the
111 n r»r rindum mav be of interest:
* Questions 517, 556, 93/, and 1130.
Letter of Treasury to Foreign Office,
20th December 1909.
(P. 182.)
Pol. 4388/09.
Secretary of State’s Political Despatch
No. 3, 14th January 1910.
Pol. 3467/10.
Letter of Director of Military Operations
to Foreign Office, 13th August 1907.
(P. 163.)
“ The o-eneral considerations governing the
construction of a line from Bunder Abbas to
Shiraz are touched on by Lord Gurzon m his book
‘ Persia and the Persian Question, \ of. U pages
029-b3b. At page 03b the Bunder Abbas-binraz
line is actually mentioned.
“ Bunder Abbas is even now a fairly good
harbour, and could easily be greatly improved
■ It is the port to which all goods tor Kerman am
1 the districts served from it are consigned.
“ Lor this reason a Bunder Abbas-kennan
‘ railway via Bam has been exhaustively discussed
• by the Government of India in a Secret Memo-
‘ randum, which is probably available m the India
‘ Office.t Such a line would no doubt attract a
large trade of bulk goods, and also of pilgrims ;
“ the physical difficulties are, however, considerable.
“ Bushire now attracts the whole impoit and
“ export trade of districts served by Shiraz, and
“ a l so to a large extent Ispahan and \ ezd. Pilgrims
“ are also a great feature of the port.
“ Hue bringing Shiraz within twenty Tom
“ Lours of Bunder Abbas would certainly absorb
“ the greater part of the traffic now carried on by
“ caravan. Lingah likewise has a growing import
“ and export trade with the interior, Lai being an
“ important mart only six days march from Lingah,
“ a s against about ten days from Bunder Abbas.
u \ lino serving would citticict almost nil tins
tralhc
u It is clear, therefore, that theie is a laigc
“ bulk of goods, both import and export, which
“ would be consigned by rail between the sea coast
“ and the interior.J Assuming Shiraz to be the
u northern end of the line, where could the southern
“end join the sea? At Bushire? No. The
“ physical difficulties involved by the crossing of
“ lofty mountain chains separated by deep valleys
“ are insuperable, although a better cavavan track
“ via Firuzabad is available as a substitute for the
“ difficult route now in use. The greater fength,
“ however, of the latterjirevents its adoption. At
t Not in Poiiticai Department.
x For details, vide Consular Report on
Busliire, and on Bunder Abbas and Lingah,
for 1906.