The brief journey from the main station in Rawalpindi to the smaller Margalla Railway Station in Islamabad offers a quaint contrast between the traditional and modern rail systems.

At Platform No 1, inspectors check passengers’ tickets at the entrance. Once through, travellers wait for the train on benches while porters mill about, chatting up expectant customers in the hopes of getting a few rupees and the voices of hawkers and food vendors echo across the platform.

The calm of the winter afternoon is pierced by the wail of an approaching engine. This upsets the calm of the platform; largely incomprehensible announcements begin to blare from the PA system, the signal department and other workers swing into action and passengers rush up to the train and try to make their way in even as others are disembarking.

This feverish activity lasts until the train is ready to depart, and these scenes are re-enacted several times a day, whenever a new train pulls into the station.

At the Rawalpindi station, most of the work is still done manually. A train arriving at the station will first be sent to the washing lines for minor repairs and a change of engine. Here, bogies are washed and cleaned, while technical staff check the lights, water supply, air-conditioning and heating systems.

Pakistan is one of the countries where tracks are switched manually, and the station boasts an impressive, if outdated, main cabin – where the mechanical interlocking system is operated.

Cabin operators lower the signal manually by pulling down an iron lever in the signal box. At night, a kerosene lamp is hoisted up the signal pole to light the green or red spot, as required.

The station master too uses a similar lamp to clear or stop a train passing through his station at night.

Built by the British Northern Command in 1881, the station in Pindi was a key strategic asset because it linked the largest garrison town in the subcontinent with the restive tribal areas along the northwest frontier.

By contrast, the Margalla Railway Station, built in 1972, is a smaller and more modern affair. It is the last stop on the Green Line from Rawalpindi to Karachi.

Under Mr Bhutto, the capital was supposed to be connected with national rail lines. However, these plans were shelved under military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2015