Carriages inducted for Pakistan Express

Railways minister to inaugurate service today

ISLAMABAD: To expand its services, the Pakistan Railways on Tuesday inducted carriages for the Pakistan Express Train.

The new set of bogies would be formally inaugurated by Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Wednesday (today)at the Rawalpindi Railway Station.  The train will connect Punjab to Sindh as it runs from Rawalpindi to Karachi via Faisalabad.

The train is expected to embark on its maiden from Pindi with 11 bogies. Later on at Faisalabad, eight bogies will be added and It will reach Karachi with a total of 19 coaches.



Its introductory fare has been kept low, with a ticket from Rawalpindi to Faisalabad costing Rs410. Anyone wishing to travel from Rawalpindi to Karachi would have to fork out Rs1,400.  Despite the fact that the train is called ‘Express’, Pakistan Railways has approved 22 stopovers including Gujar Khan, Jhelum, Lalamusa, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Hafizabad, Sangla Hill, Faisalabad, Gojra, Toba Tek Singh, Shorkot Cantt, Khanewal, Multan, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Dera Nawab Shah, Khanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad, Rohri, Tando Adam and Hyderabad.

The Pakistan Express, though, is not new. Old coaches of the train have been replaced with reconditioned carriages. Moreover, the old bogies had been equipped with 110 volts power supply which will now be switched to 220 volts, provided through a dedicated power plant.



The carriages of Pakistan Express had been overhauled at the Railways Carriage Factory in Islamabad around five to seven years ago and had recently undergone maintenance at the Railways Carriage Shop, at Mughalpura in Lahore. The refurbishment of these carriages cost Rs11 million per coach. By comparison, a new carriage costs Rs80 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2017.