PR inducts 40 more freight wagons

Locally made wagons have capacity to transport shipping containers

LAHORE:

Pakistan Railways has inducted 40 locally manufactured high-capacity freight wagons, which are expected to significantly increase the railways’ annual revenue.

The freight wagons were inaugurated by Railways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amir Ali Baloch at a ceremony held at Pakistan Railways Headquarters in Lahore.

According to an official statement, the new wagons will also be able to transport shipping containers from one place to another.

The statement said the wagons, built with the Chinese technology, have the capacity to carry a 70-ton load.  Now, the freight train will be able to run at a speed of 100 km/h.

By the end of the financial year 2025-26, a total of 820 such coaches will be included in the railway system. Local manufacturing of wagons will save foreign exchange reserves, the statement added.

Speaking on the occasion, Baloch said local manufacturing of wagons is a significant step towards self-reliance and that it will save foreign exchange reserves. He said the freight wagons are entirely built at the Pakistan Railways workshop.

“We have already included 140 wagons in the freight. We are going to build around 820 freight wagons,” he said, adding that a freight train recovers its costs within eight to ten months.

“We will generate more than Rs85 billion in revenue. From freight alone, we are now capable of generating Rs35 billion,” he said.

Baloch said the PC-1 of the Mainline-1 (ML-1) project has been approved. He said during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China, it was agreed that work on strategic projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will resume rapidly.

Regarding the significant amount paid to retired employees for pensions, he said the railways will soon complete the work on a new pension policy, with a new summary in preparation. Baloch added that measures are being taken to get encroached railway land vacated.