RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has decided to hire a consultant for the Murree tourist glass train project, which will be expected to complete the report by April 30.

In a meeting at the Islamabad Nespak House on Tuesday, Punjab Transport Minister Bilal Akbar asked Nespak to hire a consultant. The provincial minister was briefed on the feasibility study which will review important aspects of the project, including railway tracks, stations, geological surveys, and protection of the natural environment.

“The feasibility study will be completed by April 30,” he said, adding that international consultants were also being approached in this regard.

Mr Akbar said that the purpose of the feasibility study was to review the ground realities to prevent any obstacle in the completion of the project. “The glass train project was planned in 2015. Over the course of 10 years, new constructions, Covid-19, and climate change have occurred. The old feasibility study will also be reviewed,” he said.

Train project requires comprehensive study of hill station for feasibility

The provincial minister said the railway track would be built from Rawalpindi to Murree. “The tourist glass train will provide travel facilities to tourists as well as locals. The tourist glass train will further promote tourism,” he said. He claimed that all resources would be utilised to maintain the natural beauty of the hill station during the construction of the project. The train will also reduce traffic congestion in Murree, he said.

On the other hand, a senior official of the transport department told Dawn that the provincial government wanted to hire a foreign consultant for the feasibility study.

He said that the feasibility study for a rail link from Rawalpindi to Muzaffarabad was conducted in 2015 and the government wanted to use the feasibility study, but in light of the recent changes, a new study would be required.

At the time, the study did not envisage a direct link for Murree city’s prime locations, like Kashmir and Pindi Points. Earlier, this project was limited to Bastal Morr and Bhurban and then Muzaffarabad onward.

“Now, the train track is planned to be laid from Rawalpindi to Murree and it will go around the Sunny Bank towards Rawalpindi Point, Kashmir Point and Jhika Gali, so tourists will be able to see the hill station from the glass train,” he said. This project requires a comprehensive study of the area so the availability of the land for the railway track and stations can be determined, he added.

“The project is feasible as Murree is situated at a height of over 2,200 metres and during the British Raj, a rail link was laid to Shimla in 1906 which is situated at a height of 2,200 metres,” he said.

He said Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister started the work on the project from Rawalpindi to Muzaffarabad in 2014-15. “A place near Bastal Morr was proposed for the railway station in Murree. However, Nawaz Sharif objected to having a railway station at Bastal Morr and then it was decided to build a station near Jhika Gali,” he said, adding that after the PML-N government completed its tenure in 2018, the project was stopped.

After coming to power in 2024, the PML-N started the work on the train project and the Punjab government formed the 18-member working group for Murree in October. The Punjab minister for transport is the chairman of the committee. The secretaries for the he transport and masstransit department, tourism, archaeology and museums, environment protection and climate change, planning & development board, communication and works are its members.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024