Pakistan Railways

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: 'Transport in Pakistan'.

Pakistan Railways

Pakistan Railways Netwok map
Reporting marks	PR
Locale	Pakistan
Dates of operation	1947 – present
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Lahore, Punjab

Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway company of Pakistan. It is a large organization under the administration of the Pakistani Government's Ministry of Railways. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation in the farthest corners of the country and brings them closer for business, sightseeing, pilgrimage and education. It has been a great integrating force and forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of people and freight.

Pakistan Railways Headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan

1 History of Pakistan Railways
2 Major Routes
- 2.1 Major Stations and Junctions
3 Passenger Traffic
4 Freight Traffic
5 Pakistan Locomotive Factory, Risalpur
6 Current Problems
- 6.1 Gauge
- 6.2 Accidents
7 Development plans
8 Electrification
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
12 Train Crash History

[edit] History of Pakistan Railways

The possibility of Karachi as a sea port was first noticed in the middle of 19th century. Sir Henry Edward Frere was appointed Commissioner of Sindh after its annexation with Bombay in 1847 and sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin a survey for a sea port. He also initiated the survey for a Railway line in 1858. It was proposed that a railway line from Karachi City to Kotri, steam navigation up the Indus and Chenab rivers up to Multan and from there another railway to Lahore and beyond be constructed.

It was on 13 May 1861 that first railway line was opened for public traffic between Karachi City and Kotri, a distance of 105 miles (169 km). The line between Karachi City and Kiamari was opened on 16 June 1889. During 1897 the line from Keamari to Kotri was doubled.

The railway line from Peshawar to Karachi closely follows Alexander’s line of march through the Hindu Kush mountains to the Arabian Sea. Different sections on the existing main line from Peshawar to Lahore and Multan and branch lines were constructed in the last quarter of 19th century and early years of 20th century.

The 4 sections, i.e., Scinde (Sindh) Railways, Indian Flotilla Company, Punjab Railway and Delhi Railways, working in a single company, were later on amalgamated into the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railways Company and purchased by the Secretary of State for British South Asia in 1885, and in January, 1886, it was named North Western State Railways, which was later on renamed as North Western Railways.

At the time of independence, 1947 route miles (3,133 km) of North Western Railways were transferred to India, leaving 5048 route miles (8,122 km) to Pakistan. In 1954, the railway line was extended to Mardan and Charsada, and in 1956 the Jacobabad-Kashmore 2’-6" (762 mm) line was converted into broad gauge. The Kot Adu-Kashmore line was constructed between 1969 and 1973 providing an alternative route from Karachi up the country.

[edit] Major Routes

The total length of railway tracks in Pakistan is 5072 miles (8,163 km). The busiest routes include:

1. Peshawar-Karachi Route

2. Peshawar-Quetta Route

3. Lahore-Sialkot Route

4. Lahore-Faisalabad Route

5. Faisalabad-Khanewal Route

[edit] Major Stations and Junctions

The major stations & junctions between Peshawar and Karachi include:

Peshawar, Nowshehra Jn., Attock city, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Lalamusa Jn., Gujrat, Wazirabad Jn., Gujranwala, Lahore, Lahore Cantt., Raiwind Jn., Okara, Sahiwal, Chichawatni, Mianchannu, Khanewal Jn., Multan cantt., Lodhran Jn., Bahawalpur, Samasatta Jn., Khanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad, Pannu Aqil Cantt., Rohri Jn., Khairpur, Bhiria Road, Nawabshah, Tandu Adam, Hyderabad Jn., Kotri Jn.,Jangshahi, Landhi Jn., Karachi cantt. and Karachi City.

The major stations & junctions between Peshawar and Quetta are:

Peshawar to Rohri Jn. (same as above), Sukkur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad Jn., Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi Jn., Ab-e-Gum, Mach Spezand Jn and Quetta

[edit] Passenger Traffic

Passenger traffic comprises 50% of the railway's total revenue. During 1999-2000, this amounted to Rs. 4.8 billion. Pakistan Railways carries 65 million passengers annually and daily operates 228 mail, express and passenger trains. The number of passengers carried daily is thus about 178,000. Pakistan Railways also operates special trains during occasions like congregations of the Dawat-e-Islami and the Tableeghi Ijtima.

[edit] Freight Traffic

The Freight Business Unit, with 12,000 personnel, operates over 200 freight stations on the railway network. The Unit serves two major ports of Karachi and Bin Qasim as well as all four provinces of the country and generates revenue from the movement of agricultural, industrial and imported products, Petroleum Oil & Lubricants (POL), wheat, coal, fertilizer, rock phosphate, cement, container traffic and sugar. About 39% of the revenue is generated from the transportation of POL products, 19% from imported wheat, fertilizer and rock phosphate. The remaining 42% is earned from domestic traffic.^{[citation needed]}

The Freight Business Unit offers services to meet customer requirements and reduce costs through efficiency, innovation and modernization. All possible efforts are made to increase revenues and pass on the benefits to customers. The Freight Business Unit is headed by an additional General Manager.^{[citation needed]}

The Freight Rates structure is based on market trends, particularly of road transport, which is the Railways' main competitor. The freight rates are no longer rigid but flexible, depending on the lead, peak-off peak season, and quantum offered.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Pakistan Locomotive Factory, Risalpur

Pakistan Locomotive Factory at Risalpur, a public spread on an area of 251 acres, was put into service in 1993 with the collaboration of Government of Japan at a total cost of Rs.2284.00 million, including a foreign exchange component of Rs.1496.00 million. The factory can produce two diesel-electric locomotives per month on single-shift basis, but this can be doubled by introducing a second working shift. The factory is equipped with the state-of-the-art equipment which can be employed in the building of diesel-electric locomotives of suitable horsepower, as well as electric locomotives with minor adjustments.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1993, twenty three PHA-20 type 2000 HP diesel-electric locomotives have rolled out of the factory.^{[citation needed]} The ongoing project of 3000 HP AGE-30 diesel-electric locomotives is at the verge of its completion, which is a milestone in the history of the factory.^{[citation needed]} Apart from manufacturing new locomotives, the Pakistan Locomotive Factory has also successfully rehabilitated five diesel-electric locomotives of GRU-20 Type and manufactured other various spares/components for railway maintenance divisions and rehabilitation projects. Pakistan Locomotive Factory is a national asset which apart from domestic needs can fulfill the pressing demands of the new millennium.

[edit] Current Problems

[edit] Gauge

Pakistan railway still suffers from a mixture of gauges, 1676mm and 1000mm, but this is being gradually tackled by converting the narrow gauge lines to broad gauge, with little narrow gauge remaining.

[edit] Accidents

Ghotki Trains Crash
- In its worst accident in recent years, three passenger trains collided on 13 July 2005, derailing 13 carriages and leaving at least 120 dead. The Karachi Express ran into the back of the Quetta Express while it was stopped at a station near Ghotki, and the Tezgam Express travelling in the opposite direction hit several of the derailed carriages. According to officials, the conductor of the Karachi Express misread a signal (see Ghotki rail crash).

Wikinews has news related to:

Train crash in southern Pakistan kills more than a hundred

Super Parcel Express
- On 21 Aug 2005, the upcountry Super Parcels Express jumped the rails while crossing the Malir Bridge near Landhi in the Karachi Division. Eight bogies were substantially damaged when an axle broke due to over loading. The rail traffic was suspended for 24 hours. All down trains were terminated at Landhi and the rakes and the locos made the turn around from Landhi.

[edit] Development plans

In May 2006, Ministry of Railways announced that railway tracks between Gwadar and Quetta will be built. The Bostan-Zhob narrow-gauge railway line will be converted into broad gauge within one year. These two projects will be developed at a cost of US$1.25 billion (Rs. 75 billion).

In addition, there are several ongoing schemes of expansion into West Asia and electrification worth over $2 billion over the next five years. [1]

Also, a high-speed (almost 300km/h) railway between Punjab and Sindh is planned at a cost of $1 billion [2].

Speaking at a ceremony on December 19, 2006, for the beginning of a project to double-track the connection between Khanewal and Raiwind, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf asserted the importance of rail transport to Pakistan's future. During his speech, Musharraf mentioned initiatives to increase train speeds, install more lengths of double track and to convert the country's railways to standard gauge and establish direct rail connections with China.^[1]

[edit] Electrification

The 274 km (170 mile) section between Lahore and Khanewal is currently electrified.

[edit] See also

List of Pakistan Railways Trains
List of Pakistan Railways Bridges
Ministry of Railways (Pakistan)
Transport in Pakistan
Karachi Circular Railway Karachi Circular Railway
Lahore Railway Station
List of current systems for electric rail traction
Railway company
List of railway companies

[edit] References

^ "Railway track be laid between Pakistan and China: Musharraf", PakTribune, 2006-12-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.

[edit] External links

[edit] Train Crash History

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/a/k/Pakistan_Railways_5e5d.html"