Lahore:
As Punjab pushes on with plans for Pakistan’s first bullet train, the country’s existing railway infrastructure – plagued by derailments, dilapidated tracks and functional signals – doubts about the feasibility of such an ambitious project.
Details collected by Express Pakinomist reveal that over 6,500 kilometers of railway tracks, built since the creation of Pakistan, have surpassed their natural life and is now in a state of forgery. However, the absence of a Bailout package for rail improvements and inadequate funds for trace repairs has contributed to several train tracks.
According to sources of Express Pakinomist, more than 200 incidents of train tracking have been reported each year in Punjab for the past four years. By 2021, 280 events were reported with the derailment of freight and passenger trains on the main and branch lines followed by 230 events in 2022, 250 in 2023, 270 in 2024 and 130 events in the first four months of 2025. Quett and Quett and.
According to Muhammad Sabir Awan, an expert on the railroads, the wrong adjustment between the train and the track and non -compliance with the SOPs given by Engineering and Mechanical Department for Traffic Safety was the main reasons for most cases of derision. “The Division Superintendent’s job is to inspect the train and track in its department. This inspection must be performed at least once a week, but this is rarely done, as for which loose nuts, bolts and functional signing systems get trains to derogate. By fixing rolling stock and improving the condition of the coaches.
Shahid Nazir and Muhammad Ammar Aslam, who often take a train from Lahore to Okara, revealed the state of the railway infrastructure. “The coaches are derailed on the second or third day of running on the tracks. As a result, we finish a two and a half -hour journey of six to eight hours. The government was to improve the rail system,” the passengers called on.
Former chief engineer for Pakistan Railways Muhammad Afzal Bajwa revealed that each railway system had a given life, after which it had to be upgraded. “Unfortunately, Pakistan Railways uses railway tracks from the British era. So far we have only doubled the trail from Lahore to Lodhran, which was done in the Musharraf era. Until the government provides funds for improving track, the train will continue to delimit. The government should give the railways a rescue package again,” implored Bajw.
In a speech with the Express Pakinomist about the case, President of Pakistan Railways (Prem Union) believed Sheikh Muhammad Anwar that the government’s neglect was primarily responsible for derailments. “The government is building roads, ring roads and highways, but it has neither the funds nor time to set railways. Fees worth RS7 billion life,” Anwar confirmed.
When asked about the situation, Babar Ali Raza, Director -General Public Relations, said Pakistan Railways, “We have introduced engineering restrictions on weak traces to prevent derailment – these define speed limits that cannot be exceeded at certain points.” The rail minister, he said, has begun 13 projects worth RS11 billion to strengthen vulnerable sections. “If we review data from the last decade, the accident rate – while it should ideally be zero – steadily because of the measures taken and we expect this downward trend to continue,” Raza claimed.
