RAWALPINDI: Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi on Monday said the speed of trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore will be increased to 160 kilometres per hour to reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours.

Talking to the media at the railway ministry, the minister said work was underway to start an international freight train service later this month.

He said the freight train will be operated from Lahore to the Iranian border and then to Russia. Moreover, plans are also being made on railway projects with Kazakhstan to increase trade with Central Asian countries.

He announced a 20 per cent discount on fares during Eid days and five special trains would be operated on the occasion. The minister said PR was striving to improve services and introduce new trains.

The minister said during the 11 months of the financial year, the railways earned revenue of Rs83 billion, which he said was a record.

“As many 1,413 new wagons are being prepared, out of which 500 will be used for freight service. A new train service from Lahore to Narowal will start from June 15,” he said.

The minister said the international tendering of Royal Palm Express had been completed and several important projects were underway, including the outsourcing of eight hospitals and 14 schools, so that employees could be provided with affordable and quality medical facilities and education.

“The children of employees will be given quality education like private educational institutions,” he added.

Hanif Abbasi said authorities of all four provinces are also working to improve food quality in the railways. Front desks and train hostess services will also be introduced soon to provide best services to the passengers.

“Anti-encroachment operations are being carried out under the Punjab model and land worth billions of rupees will be reclaimed. Plans are also underway to vacate station yards, commercial, agricultural and residential lands,” he said. He said strong relations had been established with the Punjab government and several projects that were stalled since 2016 were being reactivated.

“Trees will be planted along the railway tracks under the Green Pakistan Programme while work is underway on Rs45 billion railway project for Punjab,” he said.

About upgrading the railways, the minister said it was essential for transportation of Reko Diq and Thar coals. “Three inactive freight and audit companies have been closed to make the system more efficient. Plans are also underway to upgrade the Margalla Railway Station to modern lines,” he said. He appreciated the cooperation of railway employees and promised that they will be provided free medical facilities.

Talking about railways’ earnings, he said the passenger train sector contributed Rs42 billion while freight operations brought in Rs29 billion. An additional Rs12 billion were earned through other revenue streams. With one month remaining in the financial year, Pakistan Railways is well-positioned to surpass its previous annual record of Rs88 billion.

Among the divisions, Karachi led in the earnings, contributing Rs13 billion through passenger services and Rs25 billion through freights. Lahore division followed with Rs10 billion from passenger trains and Rs0.75 billion from freight operations. Rawalpindi and Multan divisions each generated Rs4 billion from passenger services, bringing their combined total to Rs8 billion.

This year’s earnings have never been matched in the history of Pakistan Railways. By comparison, the organisation earned Rs77 billion during the same period last year, highlighting a significant year-over-year increase, said the minister.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2025