'Mesopotamian Transport Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by the Government of India with the Approval of the Right Hon'ble The Secretary of State for India, to Enquire into Questions Connected with the Organisation and Administration of the Railway and River Transport in Mesopotamia' [‎24r] (47/114)

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218. Another impoitant project which is under review at the present moment
is the possible extension of the Baghdad-Samarra standard gauge line in the direc
tion of Tekrit. As far as Samarra this line runs on the low-lying ground adjacent
to the right bank of the Tigris Decessitating high embankments to protect the line in
ca^e of floods ; near Samarra, however, this low-lying ground narrows to a strip of
about 1,500 yards ; outside and to the west of this lies a strip of broken ground
about 1,000 yards broad which is bounded on the side furthest from the river by a
plateau. It should not entail any heavy amount of work in development to reach
this plateau and once there, no danger from floods need by anticipated and an easy
alignment appears feasible as far as Tekrit. A survey of the alignment from
Samarra to Tekrit is about to be undertaken. The construction of this line is, of
course, dependent on the policy to be adopted in the future, but the actual con
struction work necessitated to reach the plateau can be carried out in the present
situation of the force, and so render all the more easy the subsequent extension of
the line towards Tekrit if a forward policy is adopted.
219. Amongst minor projects which have been already sanctioned or are in
progress, are the extension of the Baghdad-Feluja 4' 8^" line to Dhibban, a distance
of 10 miles, and the building of a metre gauge line from Basra to certain quarries,
23 miles distant.
220. Next in importance to the above developments comes the question of
reserve of track to be held to meet an advance or unforeseen contingencies.
The Commander-in-Chief has decided that it is necessary to hold a stock of
50 miles of standard and 50 miles of metre gauge track in reserve.
221. Behind all these in point of priority are certain deferred projects which
have been put forward at various times but whose importance at the present
moment is not considered such as to justify surveys being made.
These include a construction of a line from Mohammerah to Ahwaz, of feeder
lines up from the Tigris towards the Pusht-i-Kuh Hills, with a similar object to
that of the extension beyond Qizil-Robat and of a line from Basra to Abadan.
The last named has been put forward with a view to avoiding the necessity
of bringing oil ships up to Basra ; an alternative scheme which at present appears
to be more in favour is to lay the pipe-line from Abadan to Basra and so avoid
rail haulage altogether.
222. From the above list of actual works which, with the exception of the
three last, may all be considered as within the range of probability, it will be seen
that the detention of an adequate reserve of staff, equipment and material actually
in the country is a necessity if the demands of the Army are to be promptly complied
with.
223. The future development of river transport on the Tigris appears to inland Water
depend to some extent on the capacity of the narrows to carry an increasing amount Transport,
of traffic. The difficulties of navigation in the narrows necessitating the tieing up
of ships to allow others to pass them, restrict the number of vessels which can
be passed through, and in this respect may be likened to a section of single-line
railway in the middle of a double-track system.
Although the limit of capacity of the river may not yet be in view, there appear
to be other good reasons why it is more advisable to develop the railway than to
recommend a scheme for the further extension of river transport. For example
the heavier comparative expenditure of fuel by vessels, shown in paragraph
183, appears to point to the desirability of future necessary development being by
rail rather than by river. Besides this railway working can be expanded to meet
sudden rushes of traffic with greater ease than with inland water transport.
Any forward moves also beyond the present position would necessarily have
to be supplied by rail.
224. There are two directions, however, in which development may be
expected in the near future ; —
(i) In connection with the scheme for developing local resources in the
Euphrates valley (see Appendix J) and
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