The Great Game 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 (Sind-Pishin State Railway) to thwart any Russian invasion.