§ MR. SCLATER-BOOTHasked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether it is true that contracts have been entered into by the Government of India for the construction of a Railway on the narrow gauge (3 feet 3⅝ inches) from Khundwa to Indore; whether such Railway will not ultimately form part of a through communication between the East India and Great Indian Peninsula systems; and, whether the consequence will not be to establish a double break of gauge (viz. at Khundwa and Agra), on the future direct route from Bombay to the North West Provinces?
MR. GRANT DUPEIn reply, Sir, to my hon. Friend, I have to say—first, that such a line has been contracted for; secondly, that it may be extended so as to form a link between the East Indian and the Great Indian Peninsula systems; thirdly, that in that event there will be a break of gauge both at Khundwa and at Agra; but those breaks of gauge will be on a line, not on the line from Bombay to the North West Provinces. Passengers going direct from Bombay to the North West Provinces will, of course, prefer the broad gauge line which runs straight to Allahabad, the capital of those Provinces, instead of the one about which my hon. Friend asks, which is laid out for local purposes.