Islamabad:
Federal Railroad Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi described on Wednesday a comprehensive roadmap to renew the Pakistan railroads, saying that the transformational progress was already underway despite the limited resources.
In response to legislators’ consultations during the session of the National Assembly question, he said that the comforts of the passengers had been substantially improved in the main stations, including the city of Rawalpindi, Cantt, Raiwind, Khanewal and fine, now aligned with the modern standards for cleaning, rest facilities and waiting areas.
He added that an improved state -of -the -art station would be inaugurated in Karachi on September 10, modeled after the recent updates in LaHore.
The stations in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Faisalabad would follow their example on September 30, with the complete transformation of all the main stations for its completion before December 31, 2025 and all the smallest stations in June 2026.
“We are committed to offer international standard services to all passenger classes: economy, business and VIP, and I guarantee that the facilities will coincide with the views in developed countries,” said Abbasi.
In freight services, the minister said that despite the shortage of stocks and rolling wagons, Pakistan Railways had managed to operate an efficient national load network that originates in Sindh, generating significant income in the last year.
“Freight is the backbone of rail systems worldwide. Now we are also moving towards a change in this segment,” he said.
Abbasi also said that the Narkowal section had resumed operations after a 12 -year parenthesis, and the Muse Pak Express had been revived by fine. Collaborations with the Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan governments were underway to raise and restore additional routes.
“We are working in agreements with Sindh to restore discontinuous routes, and the discussions are ongoing with CM Sindh this month. Similar cooperation with Baluchistan has allowed an elevation of 50 km from Sheikh Zaid to Kuchlak,” he said.
When he assumed the position, said Abbasi, he had focused on three key service areas: punctuality, cleaning and food quality.
He pointed out that the efforts had thrown measurable improvements, with punctuality that now reaches 95 to 95 percent on certain routes such as LaHore-Rawalpindi.
When addressing a question about public transport, the minister clarified that Pakistan Railways was not directly involved in projects such as the Railway circular karachi (KCR) or the Lahore subway, since such initiatives had fallen under the provincial jurisdiction after the 18th amendment.
However, he added, the ministry was available to extend the technical support when requested.
In a historical development, Abbasi highlighted the progress in Kohat’s transnational railway link to Mazar-Sharif through Kharlachi. The project, part of the regional connectivity initiative planned during the PDM government, had seen diplomatic and technical advances, including a trilateral signature ceremony in Kabul with Afghan and Uzbeke counterparts.
“The 850 km link to Central Asia, with an existing 75 km track inside Uzbekistan, will be a change of play. A feasibility study will be completed before December 31 of this year,” he announced. “We have already assigned $ 5 million, matched by Uzbekistan, while Afghanistan has secured full security for the route.”
Abbasi revealed that the Karachi-Rohri section (480 km) was about to reach a final agreement with a financial institution, while the Lahore-Rawalpindi segment, also part of ML-1, had received an assignment of RS250 million in the Punjab budget.
“It is expected that the work based on Karachi-Rohri and Lahore-Rawalpindi will begin next year,” he added, noting that the negotiations for the remaining segments were ongoing with multiple interested parties.
He said that the most modern station in the 77 years of history of the Railways of Pakistan would open in Karachi on September 10.
