Local train service from Karachi to Dhabeji starts tomorrow

Karachiites can use Dhabeji Express on November 1 for free

KARACHI: After a passage of almost 11 years, the Dhabeji Express will start running again in the port city from tomorrow (Thursday).

Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid announced that President Dr Arif Alvi will inaugurate the Dhabeji Express today (Wednesday) while it will be opened for public on Thursday (November 1). He also promised to lay a railway track from Gwadar to Quetta at a press conference on Tuesday.

The Dhabeji Express will leave the City Station in Karachi at 7am every morning and reach Dhabeji station at 8:55am, after making stops at Drigh Road, Malir and Bin Qasim stations. Likewise, the other train would leave from Dhabeji daily at 6:15am. The minimum fare, according to Railways Divisional Commercial Officer Ishaq Baloch, would be Rs25 and maximum Rs80.

The train operation, according to Rashid will reduce vehicular traffic on II Chundrigar Road and Sharae Faisal. He also shared that the public would not be charged any fare on the first day. "It's a gift to the people of Pakistan from Prime Minister Imran Khan," he said, adding that he wants the labourers to reach home on time and safely, without going through the hassle of sitting on bus rooftops. He promised a monthly pass for labourers and another train service from Sukkur to Karachi. "We are willing to facilitate the circular railway project too," he said.

According to Sheikh, his agenda is to make 10 trains functional in 100 days. "The government is willing to lay down a track in Gwadar too," he said, adding that they have already started work to increase the speed of trains. He appealed to the citizens of Khanewal and Multan to stop visiting railway stations just to use free Wifii.

The Dhabeji's train operation, according to Baloch, was suspended in 2007 and the last intra city train service was suspended in 2016, which was from City Station to Landhi.

"The government never supported its operation and Pakistan Railways was short of engines," an official of the Pakistan Railways told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

Sustainable operation?

An expert has expressed the belief that Dhabeji Express' operation will be a challenging task for the railway authorities, as they failed to sustain it in the past.



Dr Noman Ahmed, from the NED University of Engineering and Technology's urban planning department, recalled that the Dhabeji Express was inaugurated by former Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad in 2007 and was shut down hardly after a few months as it couldn't be sustained due to faulty planning.

He explained that there's only one railway track from Karachi to Peshawar, which also passes through Dhabeji, on which freight railway and normal passenger trains run. "How will they accommodate the Dhabeji Express in between?" he asked, adding that it would be a challenging task for the railway authorities to accommodate Dhabeji Express in the existing timetable.

When asked if it would ease down the traffic on Sharae Faisal, he said, "It won't make any drastic [improvements], but would have some good affect."



To make this initiative successful, Dr Ahmed advised that the government also run feeder bus service to different railway stations. For example, a bus service from Gulistan-e-Jauhar to Drigh Station. One train, he said, would carry a maximum of 1,200 passengers. To ease the traffic flow, he said that more than one service needs to be operated in a day.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2018.