Preparing for festivities: Eleven special trains running for passengers during Eid

The trains are offering subsidised fares and will connect the major cities of the country .

KARACHI:

To facilitate passengers from Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore and Multan, Pakistan Railways is running 11 special trains on Eidul Fitr.

As Eid approaches, people hailing from different areas of the country are travelling back home to celebrate the occasion with their families. Hundreds of men, women and children can be seen at bus stands and railway stations.

The first two Eid special trains left for Peshawar and Rawalpindi from the Karachi Cantonment Station on Saturday, with around 1,800 passengers on board.

Pakistan Railways is running four special trains for Eid from Karachi to Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Quetta at subsidised fares at a time when intercity buses and airlines have almost doubled and tripled their fares. Pakistan Railways Karachi division commercial officer Nasir Nazir told The Express Tribune that they are running the trains on subsidised fares for those who 'love to travel by train'.

"All the trains are booked out and on Saturday the trains for Peshawar and Rawalpindi took around 1,800 passengers from the Cantt Station," said Nazir, adding that the trains had 12 coaches each and left the station according to the scheduled times.

The third train from the Karachi Cantonment Station will depart for Lahore on 11am on July 27, while the fourth train for Quetta will leave from the station on July 28 at 2pm. These two trains are also fully booked and would carry 15 and 12 coaches respectively. Nazir said that the railways are trying to avoid delays and ensure that the trains run on time.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2014.