Bahawalnagar Junction lies in a shambles

In spite of historical and practical significance, the station and its surrounding areas face neglect by authorities

BAHAWALNAGAR:

When it was built in 1894, the railway junction in Bahawalnagar was one of the main crossing points across the Indian subcontinent.

The railway line connects at Bhawalnagar Junction with Amarooka in the east, Fort Abbas in the south and Samma Satta in the west. Samma Satta is connected with Lahore, Karachi and other major cities through the Bhawal Nagar railway line.

In spite of its historical and practical significance, the station and its surrounding areas have fallen into a state of disrepair and decrepitude.

When the station was active, there were fewer than 12 express trains that operated through the key junction on the Bahawalnagar Railway.

It formerly operated from Karachi to Delhi via Bahawalnagar and from the Ferozepur district of India. Express trains reportedly also operated between Quetta and Ambala Cantonment. Every hour of the day, steam engines could be heard. Meanwhile, the families of railway employees lived in the railway quarters, which housed over a thousand people and ranged in size from four-acre bungalows to hundreds of single-room quarters.

The railway had its own electricity system that powered both the station and the railway colony.

About a mile east of the railway station was a locomotive workshop where repairs and maintenance of the steam engines was carried out.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2023.