was responsible for the creation of the Khyber Pass Railway. The British were convinced that the Russian Empire were planning to invade the British Raj. The most obvious routes for this invasion would be through the Khyber Pass or Bolan Pass, and thus it was suggested that strategic railways be built in both of these passes. In 1879, a reconnaissance survey was conducted with an aim to find the feasibility of laying railways through the Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass to thwart any Russian invasion. In 1905, the North Western State Railway began construction of the line at the village of Kacha Garhi, located between Peshawar and Jamrud. The broad gauge track made progress westwards and of track was laid by 1907. On 31 August 1907, the Anglo-Russian Entente was signed between the United Kingdom and Russia in St. Petersburg, Russia. The agreement brought shaky British–Russian relations to the forefront by solidifying boundaries, particularly in Afghanistan. The new boundary agreement and alliance made Russia no longer a threat to the British and work stopped on the railway. In 1909, several kilometers of permanent way and bridges were uprooted from the Khyber Pass Railway and sent to other lines being constructed by the North Western State Railway. In 1920, work restarted on the Khyber Pass Railway, however this time the proposal to use broad gauge was adopted and construction. Victor Bailey was the engineer who was assigned the construction of the line. The section from Jamrud to Landi Kotal was opened on 3 November 3, 1925 by the wife of the engineer. The train took passengers through rugged mountainous terrain reaching a height of to reach Landi Kotal and covering a total distance of through 34 tunnels, 92 bridges and culverts and a zig-zag between Landi Kotal and Landi Khana. The oil-fired steam engines, which pushed and pulled the carriages from the rear and front, were built by Vulcan Foundry and by Kitson & Co in the United Kingdom. One of the unusual feature of this train journey was that its route passed across Peshawar Airport's main runway.) On 3 April 1926, the railway was extended to Landi Khana, just 3 kilometers from the Torkhamborder crossing with Afghanistan. In 1932, the Landi Kotal to Landi Khana section of railway was closed down at the insistence of Afghan government. Regularly scheduled rail service continued between Peshawar and Landi Kotal until 1982, due lack of commercial value. The 2008 monsoon season rains in the Khyber Pass washed away significant sections of the railway. The track as of today is closed for all rail traffic.
Proposed revival
In 2010, Pakistan Railways began a feasibility study to rebuild the Khyber Pass railway and to possibly extend it further west to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. However, work stalled due to the security situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In 2016, the Afghan Ministry of Public Works began a survey of the railway line from the Pakistan border to Jalalabad. Nangarhar's governor directed relevant authorities to cooperate in undertaking the survey. Afghanistan has also put forth proposals and requests to further extend the railway to Kabul. The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries said that the new railway line would facilitate trade with Pakistan.
