LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to increase the number of goods/freight trains from nine to 14 starting operations from January 31 in a bid to meet the demands of the business community and expand freight revenue.

“At present, we are operating nine freight trains, originating from Karachi for various cities, including Lahore. Since these do not meet the demands of the business community, it was finally decided to start operations of five more freight trains by Jan 31 in a meeting presided over by the Railways minister at the PR headquarters on Friday,” PR Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hafeezullah said while talking to Dawn on Friday.

To a question, he said preparations for these new freight trains have been started by refurbishing old goods’ wagons, which would be completed by Dec 31. Similarly, the completely-fit locomotives would also be provided to the PR’s freight wing by December, he said, adding that “by January, we will be able to increase the number of freight trains from 9 to 14”.

Meanwhile, Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said the decision to enhance the freight business would not only meet the business community’s demands, but also expand freight operations, boost revenue and improve the operational efficiency.

During the meeting, the participants, besides setting the target for freight trains, also took decisions to improve institutional accountability and address operational issues.

The meeting also approved the establishment of a dry port at the Khanewal Railway Junction to improve cargo handling facilities and promote freight business.

Taking notice of train accidents caused by mechanical faults, Mr Abbasi directed officials to conduct inquiries against the various officers/officials (train examiners) through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). He also ordered the installation of five additional weighbridges across the country by Dec 31 to prevent overloading.

In a move aimed at improving administrative efficiency and accountability, the meeting decided to discontinue operational meetings at the railway headquarters. Such meetings will henceforth be held at the divisional level to ensure timely resolution of problems, effective monitoring and better decision-making.

The meeting also decided to phase out damaged vehicles movement (DVM) and damaged vehicles sickline (DVS) coaches/wagons from the railway system and directed sleeper factories to operate at double shifts to increase production for manufacturing sleepers.

The minister expressed displeasure over delays in the procurement of spare parts for locomotives and passenger coaches, directing the relevant officials to remove bottlenecks in the procurement process and ensure timely availability of essential components.

Meanwhile, Mr Abbasi also met Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb to discuss the restoration of branch railway lines in the province.

Ms Aurangzeb assured the federal minister that the funds required for the restoration of branch lines would be released immediately.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2026