Bolan Pass

One of the greatest Engineering feats of British rule in India was to lay a railway track through the famous Bolan Pass. More than a century old, this railway track still generates an awe among rail enthusiasts all over the world. Orders or a feasibility survey of Bolan Pass Railway were first issued by the British Government in 1876. Work on the construction of railways through the Pass started in 1880 but was stopped after laying of only 31 km track due to the occurrence of famous 'battle of Maiwind' in the area. Work restarted in 1885 by rapidly laying a rail track in the bed of river Bolan and finally a steam locomotive rolled into Quetta via Bolan Pass in August of 1886. The present day railway track through Bolan Pass is actually the third attempt of laying railways through the pass. In 1889 torrential floods destroyed the track which was first laid on Bolan River bed. A new track was laid at a higher altitude but that also got washed away. In 1890 orders were issue for laying an all season track through Bolan Pass. This new track was inaugurated on April 15, 1897 and it is still operational. At some places along the track one can see the abandoned tunnels and the rail bed of earlier two attempts of laying railways through Bolan. Traveling westward from Sibi, the railway line quickly gains altitude. Following table shows distances and altitude of different stations between Sibi and Quetta. To get a better perspective of Bolan Pass distances I have considered Sibi as 0km. 0km Sibi 435ft 17km Mushkaf 469ft 50km Peshi 1456ft 63km Ab-i-Gum 2157ft 75km Mach 3246ft 89km Hirok 4552ft 101km Kolpur 5874ft 117km Spezand 5858ft 141km Quetta 5499ft

Lakh Pass. Lakh Pass is Located near Quetta and is a gateway to connect it with RCD highway (Regional co-operation and development, organization) leading to Iran and then to Turkey and Europe. This pass also connects Quetta with Karachi through Khuzdar and Lasbella districts. From here Taftan Border (Iran) is almost 650 K.Ms away , RCD highway passes through Nushki, Ahmedwal, Dalbandin towns. Throughout the journey one can view rugged mountains and vast deserts. An intresting fact about RCD highway is that it is also called "London Road" probably people of area have seen tourists from England travelling through Europe, Turkey and Iran going to eaither Afghanistan or India. A railway line called Trans- Baluchistan Railways (in British times) also moves mostly along the road and prior to construction of RCD road was the only easiest way to move through the area.. Khost valley. (Explored). Nestled. (Explored). Mariabad is a densely populated area mostly inhabitated by Hazara Minority (Claiming to be descendents of Chungez Khan) near Quetta city. On account of scarce land and increasing population, people are compelled to built their homes over the hills. Photo taken from Mountain, Koh-e-Meherdar.