TRANSPORTATION - RAIL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210037-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 37
• Publication Date: February 27, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210037-3
CLASSIFICATIOti RE:iTd:'TED
SECU Tf;.-INFD' RATION
CENTRAL INTELL: N;.E AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
25X1A
COUNTRY India
SUBJECT Transportation - Rail
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED Bombay
DATE
PUBLISHED 5 Oct 1952
LANGUAGE Hindi
SOURCE Viahwamitra.
REPORT NO
CD NO.
DATE OF
DATE DIST. 71' 7Peb 1953
NO. OF PAGES 2
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
INDIA'S KANDLA-GANDHIDHAM.DEESA RAILWAY COMPLETED
fomment and Summary: Kandla, located in Kutch State, on the west
coast of India, is being developed as a seaport by the Indian government
to offset the loss of Karachi to Pakistan.
Construction of the railway from Deesa to Kandla, via Gandhidham,
was begun in 1950 to develop the economic resources of the northwest
and to ease the heavy shipping traffic in Bombay. Gandhidham, named
after Mahatma Gandhi, is located about 7 miles from Kandla. It is a
newly planned city for the workers of the seaport.
Ceremonies for the opening of the railway were held on 2 October 1952
In Gandhidham to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Principal
speakers on that occasion iucluded Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of India,
and Lal Bahadur Shastri, Minister of Railways and Transport, Government of
India.
The following information was taken from the Hindi daily newspaper
Vishwamitra, Bombay. It indicates the salient points emphabised in the
speech delivered by Shastri, who described the physical features and the
significance of the railway in connection with the development of the
economy of this area
Gandhidham, 3 October -- The geography of Kutch has kept the state isolated
from the rest of India for many years. It is bounded on the north and the east
by the Rann of Kutch and on the south by the Arabian Sea. It was further iso-
lated because the Kutch narrow-gauge railway, the only railway system In the state,
is not connected with. any other railway line. The railway, which was constructed
in 1905, is only 72 miles long and runs between Bhu,1, Kandla, Tuna, and Machau.
Plans to extend the railway from Deena in Rajasthan were considered as soon
as the government decided to develop the port of Kandy. The line from Deena to
Kandla, of meter gauge, is 170 miles long. Of thic, 91- miles are in Bombay State
and the remainder in Kutch. There are 15 large bridges along the route, the longest
being situated over the. Banns River, 2 miles from Deena. This bridge is constructed
of fourteen 80-foot girders.
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Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210037-3
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210037-3
25X1A
The government has da,:ided to operate di_ael locomotives on this route for
economy reasons. Diesel oil for the trains will be supplied from huge storage
tanks at the port of Kandla. Steam locomotives will not be used, because the
water supply along the route has been found to be brackish and injurious to loco-
motive boilers.
The new line will connect Kashmir, Rajasthan, l4adhya Bharat, southern Punjab,
and Delhi with the por`c of Kandla. It will also make available to the rest of the
country such natural resources as gypsum, lignite, coal, soapstone, iron, kaolin,
salt, etc., which are found in Kutch State.
The government intends to construct additional lines for the suture develop-
ment of Kutch. These will include the extension of the 4i+-mile-long Mildi-Ranivar
line, the construction of a broad-gauge line to Kandla, and the conversion of the
present Kutch narrow-gauge railway into a meter-gauge line.
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210037-3