M.A. Jinnah and the Partition of Railway Assets

Sub title : Expert Committee Reports on Division of North Western and Bengal Assam Railways

Subject: Valuation and allocation of locomotives | Carriages | Workshops and infrastructure of the North Western Railway

Date of publication: 1947

Language: English

Page: 119 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 28053

Keyword: Partition of India 1947 -- Railway division -- North Western Railway -- Bengal Assam Railway | Locomotive allocation -- workshop partition -- Rolling stock | Expert Committee No. II -- M.A. Jinnah (as head of Pakistan administration) -- Financial settlement.

Abstract: Detailed committee reports and appendices outlining the principles and specific recommendations for partitioning the movable and immovable assets of Indian Railways affected by the Partition. Includes methodologies for valuing capital-at-charge, agreements on leaving major workshops (e.g., Moghalpura, Kanchrapara) undivided, detailed schemes for allocating rolling stock (locomotives, carriages, wagons) based on operational needs and age groups, and proposals for mutual assistance and financial settlements between the two successor Dominions.

Description: This collection comprises the official report and extensive appendices from the Railway Department's sub-committee to Expert Committee No. II, tasked with the monumental challenge of dividing one of British India's largest integrated assets: its railway system. The documents provide a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the terms of reference, including compiling asset values, recommending physical divisions, proposing arrangements for mutual assistance where division was impracticable, and outlining a financial settlement. Key debates documented include the valuation of capital assets, the fate of major workshops, and the equitable distribution of rolling stock, including wartime locomotives. The records are fundamental to understanding the logistical and economic foundations of the new state of Pakistan under M.A. Jinnah, highlighting the complex interplay between operational necessity, equity, and the urgent pressures of Partition. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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