LAHORE, Oct 16: Two-and-a-half kilometres existing line is being replaced daily on an average with broad gauge on the Mirpurkhas-Khokhropar section, it is learnt.

Around 77kms existing narrow or meter gauge track has been replaced with broad gauge so far, an official working on the Khokhropar-Monabao rail link upgradation plan told Dawn on Sunday.

“We are confident that the broad gauge track will be in operation ahead of the schedule,” he said. Work was taken in hand simultaneously from both ends — Khokhropar and Mirpurkhas — in mid-May this year.

“At present, the track is being replaced manually but we’ll soon be doing it mechanically with the help of cranes. For the purpose we’ve linked strips of 10-km tracks. “So far 66 kms meter gauge from Khokhropar to Mirpurkhas and 10.9kms track from Mirpurkhas towards Khokhropar had been replaced with broad gauge,” the official said.

Work on the boring of piles and construction of box culverts and hume pipe bridges was in full swing besides a number of allied activities. But our priority is to complete the track replacement and make it operational so that a second rail link with India is established according to the schedule”, he said.

From Mirpurkhas to Jamaro, some 8.64kms track would remain both meter and broad gauge so that meter gauge trains continued to carry passengers and goods to Pithoro via Jhudo and back.—Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui