Islamabad:
The Federal Minister of Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi outlined a comprehensive roadmap on Wednesday to restore Pakistan Jernbaner and said that transformational progress was already underway despite limited resources.
In response to legislators’ queries during the National Assembly’s question -time session, he said passenger facilities had been significantly upgraded to larger stations, including Rawalpindi City, Cantt, Raiwind, Khanewal and Multan, now in line with modern standards of cleaning, toileting and waiting areas.
He added that an advanced upgraded station was set to be inaugurated in Karachi on September 10, modeled after the recent upgrades in Lahore.
Stations in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Faisalabad followed on September 30 with the full transformation of all major stations targeted for completion by December 31, 2025, and all smaller stations in June 2026.
“We are required to offer international standard services to any class of passengers economy, business and VIP, and I guarantee that the facilities will match those seen in developed countries,” Abbasi said.
On shipping services, the minister noted that despite a lack of rolling stock and wagons, Pakistan Railways had managed to operate an effective nationwide freight network derived from Sindh, which generated significant revenue in the past year.
“Shipping is the backbone of railway systems all over the world. We are now moving towards a turn in this segment,” he confirmed.
Abbasi also said the Narowal section had resumed operations after a 12-year-old hiatus and Musa Pak Express had been revived from Multan. Collaboration with the governments of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan were underway to lift and restore further routes.
“We are working on agreements with Sindh to restore the ceased routes, and discussions are going on with CM SINDH this month. Similar collaboration with Balochistan has enabled a 50 km lift from Sheikh Zaid to Kuchlak,” he said.
When he took over the office, Abbasi said, he had focused on three key development areas: punctuality, cleanliness and food quality.
He noted that the effort had provided measurable improvements, with punctuality now reaching 90 to 95 percent on certain routes, such as Lahore-rawalpindi.
By tackling a question of mass transit, the minister clarified that Pakistan Jernbaner was not directly involved in projects such as Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) or Lahore Metro as such initiatives had fallen under provincial jurisdiction after the 18th amendment.
However, he added that the ministry was available to extend technical support when requested.
In a landmark development, Abbasi highlighted progress on the transnational railway link from Kohat to Mazar-in-Sharif via Kharlachi. The project, part of the regional connection initiative imagined under the PDM government, had seen diplomatic and technical progress, including a trilateral signing ceremony in Kabul with Afghan and Uzbek colleagues.
“Link at 850 km to Central Asia, with an existing 75 km course inside Uzbekistan, will be a game election. A feasibility survey will be completed by December 31 of this year,” he announced. “We’ve already awarded $ 5 million, matched by Uzbekistan, while Afghanistan has insured full security for the route.”
Abbasi revealed that the Karachi-Rohri section (480 km) was approaching the final agreement with a financial institution, while the Lahore-Rawal Pindi segment-also part of the ML-1-had received an RS250 billion award in Punjab’s budget.
“The basis of Karachi-Rohri and Lahore-Rawal Pindi is expected to begin next year,” he added, noting that negotiations on the remaining segments were working on more stakeholders.
He said the most modern station in the 77-year-old history of Pakistan Railways would be inaugurated in Karachi on September 10.
