January 25, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 05, 1428

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RAWALPINDI, Jan 24: Pakistan Railways is working on a project to realign the Rawalpindi-Lalamusa track, under which “trains would run at higher speeds safely, the signalling system would improve and the ride would be become more comfortable for passengers,” according to official sources.

The running time of rail cars and non-stop trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore will be brought down to less than four hours after completion of the project.

Official sources told Dawn that the realignment project, costing Rs1,284 million, envisages laying of a new track between Kaluwal (near Dina) and Pindora (near Lalamusa), thereby reducing the distance between this section from 53 to 35 kilometres.

The project also involves construction of 12 girder bridges and 38 RCC slab bridges over the new track which would have only 17 curves with one of less than one degree.

The proposed new alignment of 35 kilometres has been divided into five equal block sections with four ‘B’ class stations, excluding Kaluwal and Pindora. The number of railway stations on this section would be reduced to five from nine. The new stations would be: New Dina, New Bakrala, New Sohawa, and New Missa.

The sources said that the realignment would be an independent construction project and would be completed without interrupting normal railways operations.

With the completion of the project, Pakistan Railways would save considerable amounts of fuel and the number of trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore could be increased to strengthen facilities for passengers of the twin cities and Lahore.

It will also reduce wear and tear of carriages, locomotives and tracks resulting in reduced maintenance charges.

The project will also reduce maintenance charges for fewer stations and less staff at stations. There would also be savings in maintenance charges for over a century-old bridges, structures and tunnels, which require frequent repairs, strengthening or rebuilding, the source added.

The railway track between Kaluwal and Pindora railway stations has a maximum speed restriction of 65 kilometres per hour, due to its peculiar layout with 54 curves, 169 bridges, deep cuttings, high banks, steep grades and two tunnels varying from one degree to over six degrees.

There is a great potential of carrying passenger traffic between Rawalpindi and Lahore, therefore it was necessary to upgrade the railways infrastructure to bring it a apr with the road transport sector, which had already improved tremendously after the construction of the Motorway and improving the condition of the dual carriageway.