RAWALPINDI: Trains to Lahore were at full capacity on Thursday evening as thousands of kite-flying enthusiasts left Rawalpindi for the provincial capital to celebrate Basant festival.

With kite flying banned in the garrison city, residents seized the long weekend opportunity to join the colourful festivities in Lahore, where the provincial government has permitted the traditional spring festival.

Most people were of the view that the long weekend, starting from Thursday through Sunday, was an ideal opportunity to spend quality time in Lahore. They said the provincial government had allowed Basant in Lahore only, and they would not miss the chance to witness the colourful event.

Mostly, people were of the view that residents in Lahore had arranged kite-flying gatherings at their homes and invited relatives to join them. “We are going to Lahore for Basant and will stay at our relatives’ house,” said Muhammad Ajmal, a passenger at the Railway Station.

Long weekend provides ideal opportunity to spend quality time in Lahore

Another kite-flying enthusiast, Hamid Raza, said he had been invited to Lahore for Basant and was travelling with his family. He said train tickets had already been booked two days earlier.

Bashir Riaz, a Lahore resident working in a government department, said that after getting two days off, he decided to return to his hometown to witness the colourful event. It was an opportunity for his family to spend a few days in Lahore. “There is no festivity in the garrison city, so it will be good to spend the long weekend in Lahore,” he added.

A senior official of Railways said that three main trains departed for Lahore from Morning to night and all the trains were fully packed. However, he said that mostly a few seats remained empty on routine days.

On the other hand, Divisional Superintendent Nooruddin Dawar said that there was no special train to Lahore as there was a usual rush in train to Lahore.

He said that in weekend, most people travel from Rawalpindi to Lahore. He added that on weekends, the Lahore-Rawalpindi train is fully booked two days earlier, so it also happened on Thursday.

He also emphasised that the number of passengers already increased in the trains over the last few years due to improved facilities in the trains. However, he said that at present, we have not added extra coaches in the train to Lahore, but we would add extra coaches on Friday if required, as there were extra coaches available and we would attach it with existing train.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026