‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎162r] (322/949)

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RESUME OF VARIOUS PROPOSALS FOR BRITISE RAILWAYS IN SOUTH
ERN PERSIA.
1. Author. —Sir R. Thomson, 1886.
Considered that the construction of a railway connecting Isfahan with Shushter would
he of great value. “ The only practicable route for a line between these places would he
from the Karun to Burujird, and thence to Isfahan. Were this project realised, the line from
Burujird to Isfahan would form eventually part of the through line of railway to India, whilst
that from Shushter to Burujird would prove a useful branch, opening communication from
the main line to the head of the Gulf*.
2. Author. —Mr. Mackinnon (Messrs. Gray, Dawes & Co.), 1886—
Submitted to Government a scheme for the construction of a narrow gauge railway
from the termination of the water navigation of the Karun to Burujird, with a view to
eventual extension to Tehran and the construction of branch lines.
3. Author. —Mr. Mackenzie (Gray, Paul & Co.), 1886—
Proposed the formation of a company for the construction of a railway from the
terminus of the Karun river steamers to Tehran, the first link of the line to be from Shushter
to Burujird [via Dizful to Khorremabad), a distance of 182 miles. Burujird being on the
plateau, no engineering difficulties would be encountered in extending the subsequent links
of the line in any direction.
4 <. Author .—Captain Jennings, R.E., in his a Report of a Journey through Western
Baluchistan ”, 1886—
Reported that, as far as he was able to judge, a railway could be made without great
difficulty from Bunder Abbas to Seistan, and. also from Bampur.
5 . Author. —Mr. P. J. C. Robertson, Assistant 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 Consul at Basrah, 1887.
Reported on the proposed railway from Ahwaz on the Karun to Dizful and onwards, and
suggested, owing to the reach of the Karun below Ahwaz being studded with islands and
shoals, that the line should begin at Kut Saiyid Ali and run up the river to opposite Ahwaz,
strike thence in a nearly straight line to Dizful bridge, and on to the Kerkha.
The engineering difficulties so far would be nil, the country being quite fiat.
This section of the line would, in connection with steamers on the Lower Karun, at once
divert to itself the thriving trade carried on between Dizful and Amarah on the Tigris, and,
generally, the influence of the railway would quickly effect a transformation and give rise to
a prosperity which would benefit alike the English shareholders and the Arab inhabitants.
6 . Author. —Mr. A. B. Taylor, 1899—
Considered that a line from the Karun via Shushter, Dizful, Khorremabad, Burujird
onwards would be the best. It might be possible to run direct to Dizful without g.*ing to
Shushter, which would save distance. The great drawback to the route is the lawlessness of
the tribes between Dizful and Burujird. Was of opinion that it would be many years before
the scheme could command financial success. The stretch as far as Dizful could be made
fairly cheaply.
7 . Author .—General Brackenbury, Intelligence Department, War Office, in his Memo
randum, 1889—
Mentioned the following routes by which the elevated plateau of Persia and Tehran can
be reached from the shores of the Gulf :—
(1) Bunder Abbas, Kerman, Yezd, Isfahan, Kum, Tehran—1,029 miles.
(2) Bushire, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tehran—717 miles.
(3) Bunder Dilam, Behbehan, Ardal, Isfahan, Tehran—676 miles.
( 4 ,) Mohammerah, Shushter, Bala-rud, Burujird, Kum, Tehran—622 miles.
He considered that a line from Mohammerah to Tehran as regards length, facility of
construction, and commercial advantage, to be the most suitable route for a trunk line to tap
the commerce of Persia from the south ”. As regards the military point of view, General
Brackenbury remarked f< !Mohammerah is the most easily accessible of the ports on the Persian
Gulf, as all the others are mere open roadsteads; there is water carriage along the Karun
available to Shushter, which might serve to ease the traffic on the railway in part; and as the
route followed is the easiest from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to the interior, the gradients would be
lighter than on any other, and thus troops and stores could be more rapidly forwarded by it ”
the lines most important for England, if not to promote, at least to prevent falling under
hostile influences, are......the line from Mohammerah via Shushter, Bala-rud, and Burujird to
Tehran, and the line Kermanshah-Burujird-Isfahan-liezd-Kerman.
9 . Author Major Sawyer (in “ Note on the question of developing communications
in Persia”), 1890—
Strongly advocated a Mohammerah-Resht line. il It is from a military point of view
unobjectionable, and from a commercial point of view attractive. Looking to the future
divelopment of railways in Persia, this line, moreover, contains the promise of being most
useful in deciding the eventual Perso-Indian through line. Passing through the heart of