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File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [106v] (217/1150)
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.
, n-i „ The same conditions hold good for a port on
(c.) Port at Bandar Shapur. finest nat ural harbours in the world
Khor Musa (described as one ^ ^ ^ the gtli May? 1928)j except that & .
enclosure to Foreign 0®°® ^ ‘^mission of plans to the Government’s approbation
of ninety days is granted tor Persian Government as to the advisabik
No doubt seems to remain m the the advantages of Mohammerah a S ’
from the Persian point of view > ° f Jf, sd“„ r (Khor Musa).
southern terminus m favour o B nd if at e is to prepare plans and estimates ( ot
(d.) Bridge-dam at Akwa ■ y which apar t from irrigation, is to serve as j
dam across the Karim hiv This particular work is intended to facilitate a
bridge for the railway TaTnal contract.
call for tenders with a viev th p^ S d;cate ig con fi de nt of securing this contra
Itgoeswithout say g tkt y ^ ^ tQ exp the hope that the syndicat,
with the rest, M. Ma g i comP any for the exploitation ot the area coming
3'r,S *,rS~ SE i»“Eiu, ,» A c.= o, tbe 1... ^
Financial Aspect of the Project. . , ,
The Persian Government do not seem to have made up their mind how they«
. O* iB«l» despatch No.
the isth April 19281. This estimate may not include the construction oi fc
Ahwaz dam and the harbours at the extremities, however. M. Mavrogordato, on tli
other hand, reckons that the Sugar and Tea Monopoly Fund would probably covert
costs of the railway in sixty-six years on the basis of 4 million
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
a year, ill;
monopoly actually brought in 6 million
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
in each of the last two years,|
Excluding interest, &c., this calculation allows for an expenditure of do4 million
toman
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
or £52-8 million at 50 krans to the pound.
Referring to the freight rates at which the railway could be made to pay,
M. Mavrogordato informed me that the Tehran-Bandar-i-Gaz section would, lie
thought, pay its way at 96s. a ton if the volume of traffic between Tehran and tk
Caspian remained constant and the railway monopolised the whole of that traffic. Hf
had included 3 per cent, for interest and 2 per cent, for sinking fund in this computa
tion. The present rate of transport from Tehran to Pahlavi, the nearest port, is in tie
neighbourhood of 140s. a ton, and roughly three times as much in the other direction
No estimate for the freight to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
by rail was quoted to me.
Material.
I drew M. Mavrogordato’s attention a few days ago to an article by Paul Scheffei
in the “ Berliner hageblatt” of the 5th May, and asked him what truth there was Id
the statement that Soviet Russia would certainly share in the supply of material foi
the trans-Persian railway. M. Mavrogordato said that he had been forced to promise
the Soviet orders for material to cover the construction of 100 kilom. of railroad in tie
north in exchange for transit facilities for the equipment the syndicate would k
ordering from other countries. He had concluded a very satisfactory agreement wil
the Russian railways, but was having trouble with the Caspian Navigation Company
He did not see what material the Soviet would be able to provide apart from
rails and cement. The syndicate has undertaken to buy as much material as it can
locally. What it needs most urgently for the moment in the north is wood for tk
pier at Bandar-i-Gaz. 1 he wildest bids are being made by Persian contractors, out
, gentleman reducing his bid by 75 per cent, from one day to the other. M. Mavrogordato
^ complains that the element of competition is absent as the Shah, acting through various
contractois, seems to. have cornered the available supply of wood. The syndicate
woo ( iu.\6 no objection to paying the Shah a handsome commission, M. Mavrogordato
remarked to me, if the Shah would onlv ensure deliverv, but that he was not able to C
1 he syndicate would much prefer dealing with the Russians. . ,
t is satisfactory to know that both the German and the American partners in
syndicate beheire^that between 60 and 70 percent, of the money disbursed to then
will be spent m Persia itself.
a L ° 1116 L ^ some ^ le German firms in the syndicate had obtain^
the rkwCif H C T nt , faC l° ry m * North Persia, from which they hoped to surf
separate SrCt 3 ^ the RuBSlau quota had been exhausted. 1 am dealing »•
other works P of publiGtilfty? 1 ' 4111111168 ° ffered ^ syndicate of embal ' king 011 T8
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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File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [106v] (217/1150), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/794, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100110106180.0x000012> [accessed 8 June 2026]
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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