RAWALPINDI, Feb 11: Pakistan will enter into an era of self- reliance when indigenously-built air-conditioned coaches will be added to a new passenger train to be launched in early March.

The six air-conditioned special coaches, including two deluxe coaches and one dining car/coffee shop, are in advance stage of completion at the Carriage Factory Islamabad (CFI), and will be handed over to Pakistan Railways later this month, official sources told Dawn.

The new train, ‘Sir Syed Express’, named after one of the greatest Muslim educationists, writers and reformers, will ply between Rawalpindi and Karachi.

This will be the fourth new express train being started from Rawalpindi to Karachi. ‘Jinnah Express’ operates twice a week (Wednesday and Sunday); ‘Buraq’ every alternate day and ‘Pakistan Express’ four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).

The coaches were being built indigenously from raw material using Chinese technology. This is also for the first time that dining cars are being developed locally at the Carriage Factory.

An imported dining car would have cost Rs0.5 million but the locally-developed car will be completed at a cost of Rs2 million.

The coaches and dining cars were being built at the high speed coaches workshop added to the Carriage Factory a few months ago.

Pakistan has imported 40 completely built coaches from China while 105 coaches were being assembled and manufactured at the Carriage Factory under an agreement with China.

The carriage factory has already rehabilitated 450 coaches since 2002-03, now being extensively used by Pakistan Railways on mail and express trains.