Quetta-Chaman train service restored

Balochistan still remains disconnected from rest of the country

QUETTA:

The Pakistan Railways on Monday restored the Quetta-Chaman train service after two weeks.

The train service was suspended on August 19 after a major portion of the track was flooded on the Quetta-Chaman railway route.

"We have formally restored the train service," an official of the PR said on the condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Apart from Chaman, the train service between Balochistan and other parts of the country remained suspended after the collapse of an ancient railway bridge in the Hirak area of Balochistan’s Bolan district.

"Technical teams are making hectic efforts to repair the ancient bridge," Muhammad Izharul Haq, a railway officer based in Sibi said.

He, however, said that the repair and reconstruction of the ancient bridge would take time and refrained from giving a time frame.

The province remained disconnected from the rest of the country via rail for more than a week after floods damaged the railway track.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the railway authorities to step up efforts to ensure timely repairs of the bridge and restoration of train service between Balochistan and other parts of the country.

The National Highway Authority (NHA) claimed to have reopened the highway linking Balochistan with Sindh in the rugged mountains of Bolan. However, people are still complaining about the blockade of the highway in Bolan since floods had swept away various portions of the highway.

NHA Chairman Khurram Agha informed the Balochistan government that traffic on the highway had been restored the other day.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2022.