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Coll 6/49 'Railways and Communications: Proposed Jedda-Mecca Railway. Motor Transport Arrangements.' [‎96r] (191/221)

The record is made up of 1 file (109 folios). It was created in 17 Aug 1932-17 Nov 1939. 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. .

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?iiS JIDDA - mGQA RAILWAY PROJECT.
The railway proposed from Jidda to : eeca will lie entirely
In the province of iiejaa in Arabia, running from Jidda (Let* H*21
50’, Long* R.S9 45’) a dletance of approximately fifty ailes. Ko
maps baaed on a topographical survey of this region are available
and the plan that accompanies this project has been prepared after
i4r.H*J. %Philby f C # X«*, »X.G»3», who croooed over the Arabian
Seninaula from Ormu* to Jidda on a political mission in 1917, Ilia
route was carefully plotted out from rough surveys with a prismatic
compass, and he did not touch the holy city of Mecca on hie route,
but was under political obligation to traverse the eninsula ten
miles to the north of the holy city. Thus, his route strikes the
Jidda-iocca road at the village of Hadda, whence he was permitted to
proceed by the Jid&a-Mecca road to jedda*
From the descriptions of this political agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and from those
of other European travellers, it is learnt that all alonj the
eastern shores of the Red £ea extends a desert plain, from the Gulf
of Akaba to the Straits of abelmandeb varying in width from fifty
miles to two miles at certain places. Rising precipitously froa
this plain toward© the east are the mountains of iiedjas, which show
a distinct escarpment on their western front, while towards the
east they gently slope off towards the heart of the Arabian desert.
The holy city of Mecca lies shrouded amidst the hills on the
western slopes of this mountain range. The alignment of the railway
line over this region will have to be ohosen very carefully on
account of the gradients, arid also on account of the Intercepting
water-ways, which though dried up for the major part of the year,
flow full and with considerable velocity during the rainy season.
There is great scarcity of water all over the route and it is
doubtful whether boiler-water of sufficient purity can be obtained
anywhere over this route of fifty eileo. At Jidda it&eli people
/are

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Content

This file concerns the progress of schemes relating to the improvement of transport and communications in Saudi Arabia.

The file largely consists of copies of correspondence received by the Foreign Office from His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) and His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires to Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill, and in later correspondence, Alan Charles Trott), which includes discussion of the following:

  • Details of a failed concession for a Mecca-Jedda railway, granted by the Government of Saudi Arabia in 1933 to an Indian doctor and businessman named Saiyid Abdul Khadir Jeelani, who is reportedly unable to obtain financial support for the scheme.
  • Difficulties regarding motor transport arrangements in Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage season, following the creation of a motor transport monopoly in Saudi Arabia in 1936.
  • Details of an agreement, dated 5 October 1939, between the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Governments, primarily relating to construction and repair work on the road between Jedda and Arafat, and on certain parts of the Medina-Mecca road (the agreement also concerns the provision of water and electricity in Saudi Arabia).

The file's other principal correspondents are the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, the Chief Secretary of the Government of Madras From 1684-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Madras [Chennai] and southern India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. , and various correspondents from the Foreign Office.

In addition to correspondence, the file includes a copy of the scheme for the construction of a Jedda-Mecca railway and a copy of the aforementioned agreement between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Egypt.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).

Extent and format
1 file (109 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 110; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-110; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/49 'Railways and Communications: Proposed Jedda-Mecca Railway. Motor Transport Arrangements.' [‎96r] (191/221), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2116, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037824033.0x0000c0> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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