uilt in 1922, the reversing railway station at Jamrud still stands tall to reminisce British era in the region. Located hardly one kilometre away from main Jamrud Bazaar with seven service rooms, the railway station used to be jingling with local passengers and foreign tourists boundfor uphill Khyber Pass journey till a devastating flash flood in August 2008 washed away rail track at many points.

On November 4, 1925, Ms Victor Bayley, the wife of a British engineer entrusted with the construction of Khyber Railway, drove the first train through Khyber Pass. It was decided by the British government that Victor Bayley would run the inaugural train as recognition of his work but he died three months before the inauguration. His wife then drove the trainon her husband`s behalf.

According to another version, the local tribesmen were not allowing the train track to be laid. However, knowing that Pakhtuns had great respect for women, Victory Bayley asked his wife to drive the first train in Khyber Agency. It is said that she drew long hair so that she could be identified as a women from a distance.

Mulla Jan Afridi, a 65-year-old resident of Khyber Agency, said that local people would wait for arrival of the Sunday train from Peshawar to enjoy a free ride, winding through a 45-km railway track, started in 1920 and completed in 1925, crossing 34 tunnels, 92 bridges and culverts to reach Landi Kotal.

Photo and text by Sher Alam Shinwari