Jodhpur State Railway


The Jodhpur State Railway was formed in 1924 and took over responsibility for working the Jodhpur section of the Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway, and the British section of the Jodhpur-Hyderabad Railway.

History

Earlier named the Jodhpur Railway the first section opened as a metre gauge line in 1882, later becoming the Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway in 1889. In 1908 the JBR operated 828 miles in the territories of Sind and in territories of the States of Jodhpur and Bikaner. By 1918 the ‘JBR System’ had expanded to 1355 miles; which comprised 1106 miles plus a further 249 miles which JBR was working and operating under agreements with other railways.. A further 210 miles were sanctioned or under construction by JBR in 1918.
In 1924, the JBR was divided into its two constituent parts, with two new systems, the Jodhpur State Railway and Bikaner State Railway formed to take over responsibility for working the railway. The JSR taking the Jodhpur Section of the Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway, together with the Jodhpur-Hyderabad Railway. The exact mileage comprising the Jodhpur section is not known but in 1918 it was 687 miles plus 124 miles of the Jodhpur-Hyderabad Railway.
Writing critically in 1929 about third class travelling, Mahatma Gandhi condemned the latrines in JSR carriages as being "absolutely intolerable, insanitary and unfit for human use. The State railways should really be a model to the British system; whereas the actual state of things is the other way."
In 1936-37, the route mileage for the JSR had expanded to 767 miles; they were also operating the British section of the Jodhpur–Hyderabad Railway, expanded to 239 miles and also the Mirpur Khas–Khadro Railway, 49 miles. All these being metre gauge lines.
In 1947, the British section of the Jodhpur-Hyderabad Railway and the western portions of Jodhpur State Railway and Bikaner State Railway was ceded to the government of Pakistan becoming part of Pakistan Railways. The remaining portions of the Jodhpur State Railway and the Bikaner State Railway became part of the Northern Division of Indian Railways in 1952.

Conversion to broad gauge

The network was converted to broad gauge progressively in 2000s and 2010s.