Ancient railway track removed for Kachehri project

A 170-year-old railway track passing near the District Courts has been removed as it fell within the alignment of the District Kachehri overhead bridge and underpass mega project.

All rails of the track have been uprooted, and the route is being converted into a service road for the overhead bridge and underpass.

The railway track was originally laid by the British in 1856. It connected Rawalpindi Railway Station to Askari workshops and Attock Oil Company via Kutchery. The track ran alongside the old District Courts.

Freight train operations on the track had already been discontinued, with only occasional movement of engines or a few wagons, mostly after sunset. Now, the track has been completely dismantled, and even its remnants are being removed.

The route, once a dedicated and secure railway corridor, has been transformed into a service road for the underpass and overhead bridge.

Despite the passage of 170 years, the track remained extremely strong due to its high-quality iron construction. It took a full week to dismantle it.

The track had remained largely unused for decades. Birds had built dozens of nests in holes along the adjacent wall, all of which have also been lost to the project.

Muhammad Ashraf, the most senior clerk who has served with a senior lawyer at the District Courts for the past 45 years, said he started working there in 1979 as a young clerk.

At that time, the track was active, and at least one freight train passed daily. He recalled a large Askari dairy farm nearby, from where lawyers and clerks used to buy pure and affordable milk and butter after work.

The freight trains served the dairy farm, Askari workshops, and Attock Oil Company—all of which have now ceased to exist. The route was closed to general traffic and lay below road level.

It has now been converted into a service road, and with it, a piece of British-era heritage has been completely erased.