Although the Bolan Pass and the railway track laid before two and half century there has great historic importance for journey and trade purposes, but the poor state of the area and its people is a proof that neither the due attention was given on the Railways institution nor on the area.

Most of these stations were closed due to lack of staff over the past 30 years Including stations in Chattrasi, Kohsar, Gladler, Osipur and Nari Bank thus roofs, windows and iron of these station buildings were stolen. These historic stations have now turned into ruins.

On the other hand, the Quetta-Taftan railway track is also in shabby condition as a result the luggage train’s speed cannot exceed above 10-15 kilometer per hour. The track should have been built according to the international standard just to achieve the bilateral trade target with Iran, Turkey, central Asian states and European countries.

Regardless of the unorganized attacks and warfare of the tribal’ s against the British exploitation, the very objective of the railway network was to stop the Russia, it was also aimed at strengthening the north west border areas fall under the British exploitation policy in 1840 after the first Anglo-Afghan war, and then stopping Russia to expand its umpire. At that time, there was also fear in the minds of the then British rulers that Russia may not attack Hindustan after occupying Afghanistan from central Asia.

In view of that, the then British government had made plan to construct the railway track for defense of the areas under its control for pure military purposes.

Obviously, the British prepared a plan to further strengthen the passes located in the north western border areas of Hindustan from the military point of view. In these passes, the Bolan pass had special importance. Officer Sir Richard temple conducted his survey in 1879 and installation was begun in the same year and completed in 1894 with all bridges and all tunnels on Sibbi to Quetta railway track.

This can easily be guessed from the fact that the railway administration is facing the uphill task of repair and maintenance of the Hirak railway bridge fell during the flashflood and heavy rains a couple of months back while the railway’s mega project in the Bolan pass had completed in 18th century in the limited resources then.

Needless to mention here is that the bridge that was damaged in the rains and flood actually used to link Quetta with the rest of the country through the railway network, thus it suspended that connection when it fell in September last.

It is necessary to mention the damage Hirak bridge could not be restored despite lapse of four months that shows the failure of the concerned authorities and obviously the federal government.

This is the Bolan Valley of Balochistan which is rich in natural beauty … The train service from Quetta has been suspended from the last 120 days since the collapse of Hark Railway Bridge between Mach and Kolpur area of Bolan district, the railway authorities started train service from Mach railway station three weeks ago and passengers from Quetta have to travel Mach by bus service provided by the railway authorities and from Mach railway station passengers start their train journey

The Hark Railway Bridge was built in the British Raj in 1890, the 132-year-old bridge collapsed due to the monsoon rain on August 25, the railway authorities said that the construction cost of the bridge will be Rs 562 million and likely to be completed at the end of February next year

Another important railway establishment exists in the Harnai area of Balochistan, which is stated to be the lengthy railway station in the province, but unfortunately the railway track that was laid connecting Harnai with the rest of the country is laying useless. The 300-kilometer-long railway track plan was devised in the British raj in 1883 in the rough and tough mountainous terrain and got functional in 1948. The railway track was built from Sibbi, Harnai, Khost and then Bostan and Zhob with great engineering skills.

Worthwhile to mention here is that whole areas are resource rich having great mineral reservoirs mainly fine quality coal making the area very rich, but on the other hand, people are poverty stricken due to the mismanagement of the resources and apathy of the government besides the elected representatives from the areas.

While the Harnai-Sibi railway section is closed for long, the Railways is deprived of the revenue of the millions of rupees which it used to collect the revenue of worth Rs. 500 million daily through transportation of coal from Harnai to other parts of the country.

The Harnai-Sibi railway track and five bridges were destroyed by unknown miscreants in January 2006, which caused suspension of the rail service between the two important cities of Balochistan. Since then, the Harnai-Sibi section could not be restored showing the apathy of the government.

Although work was started on master planning of the Harnai Railway station in 2016, but still, it is still incomplete. Under the railway station’s rehabilitation, there is a plan to build a museum, park, library, hotel and tuck shop at the station by the provincial government. The plan includes the repair and renovation of the railway station besides preserving the old equipment and record so that it could be developed as an attractive tourist resort for the people.

The federal Minister Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq has already issued directives to rehabilitate the Sibbi-Khost-Harnai track section by end February this year as most of the development work on the project has been done.

Kan Mehtarzai has also been another railway’s important destination in Balochistan in the past. This station, built in the British raj, was considered to be the highest altitude railway station in Asia having narrow gauge. However, this railway hill station, which is abandoned, narrates truly the indifference of the Railway department towards the otherwise significant railway establishment once constructed in the far-flung area of Balochistan.