Shaheer Ahmed
Pakistan railway network has already been making significant progress over the past 3-4 years. Many freight trains have been introduced to enhance the infrastructure and productivity of the railway network. Moreover, Pakistan’s public railways are the only public transport system that is able to generate enough revenue to support the infrastructure plans. Recently a report has been published naming Pakistan’s Public Railway Network as the second largest in South Asia.
The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad freight train has restarted
A brief history of the Pakistan Railway
After independence, Pakistan acquired North-Western State Railway train tracks of about 8,122 kilometers (5,047 miles). Initially, all the train tracks were narrow gauged. However, over time the narrow-gauge railway tracks have transformed into broad gauge railway tracks. Most of the major transformations in the Pakistan railway were witnessed from the 1950s to the 1980s. As of now the narrow-gauge train tracks have been either dismantled or replaced.
The railway network of Pakistan is divided into main lines and branch lines. There are a total of 5 main lines and 20 branch lines.
2nd Largest Railway Network In South Asia
A recent report by the world bank has concluded that Pakistan has the second-largest public railway network in South Asia covering 80,000kms of the territory. South Asia’s railway network constitutes the railway networks of four countries i.e., Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
India has the largest railway network of 67,000 km, and Pakistan has the 2nd largest of about 7,700 km (2019), then comes Bangladesh with about 3,000 km and Sri Lanka with 1,500 km.
Bangladesh and India have limited meter-gauge rail while Sri Lanka and Pakistan have a running network of 1,676 millimeters.
This is an achievement for the Pakistani Railway network to have attained the status of 2nd largest public railway network in South Asia.
Recent Developments
Pakistan Railway network has been working on different areas to make the system better. Many recent developments are proof of the progression of the railway network.
- Introduction of Scrapyard Management System to improve the productivity and collaboration of the related staff members.
- Reefer freight trains in Pakistan in collaboration with the Marine Group of Companies. To transport the temperature-sensitive products safely. This initiative is less costly.
- Revival of stream train to boost tourism.
- Inauguration of brand-new tourist train service in Balochistan.
The list goes on but that shows one thing the Ministry of Railways is taking all the necessary steps that would make the country’s railway network better and more productive.
