Train services between Peshawar, Karachi restored

The Railways resumed train operation from Karachi to Peshawar, with the Khyber Mail and Rahman Baba Express departing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital after a gap of five weeks, officials at the Peshawar Railway Station said on Sunday.

The train service had been restored after water receded from tracks in the flood-hit areas, officials said. An official source said that initially five trains had been restored – three from Karachi to Lahore and two from Karachi to Peshawar, with a new fare schedule.

The officials said that the Khyber has left Peshawar for Karachi at 10pm Saturday, while the Rehman Baba Express left for Karachi at 11am Sunday, carrying some 1,500 passengers. The train would reach Karachi via Wazirabad and Faisalabad.

The train service to and from Quetta and Karachi divisions was suspended after railway bridges collapsed and rail tracks were submerged due to floods in the region. After reports of receding floodwaters from tracks and necessary repairs, the Railways restored the train operation.

According to The Railway Peshawar Division officials, the Awami Express and the Jafar Express which travel to Quetta would remain suspended because the train track had not been fully rehabilitated in Balochistan. The decision in this regard would be taken on October 5.

Earlier, a high-level meeting, chaired by Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, had decided to restore Karachi operation in the first week of October after reports that the floodwater had receded from the train tracks.

In the first phase, source said that freight train operation would be started, subject to the clearance of signals and bridges. The restored trains would be Karachi Express, Karakoram, Pak Business, Khyber Mail, and Rehman Baba.

“The restoration work of railway tracks are in full swing with the help of the FWO [Frontier Works Organization], district administration of Sindh and Pakistan Railways,” a source told APP. “The department is utilising all resources to restore the service in flood affected areas.”

Porters protest

Because of the suspension of the train services, not only the ordinary people were affected, but it also affected the porters on several railway stations, whose daily wages were gone. The porters have urged the government to provide them support in this regard.

The train service is suspended due to the floods. Our earning from passengers have stopped because of this suspension. We are unable to feed our families,” a porter had told APP last week. After their complaints, Rafique had announced Rs 10,000 for each porter.