KARACHI, Aug 10: The width of platforms on the side of railway tracks in various railway stations are being shortened due to a manufacturing fault in the 14 newly-imported coaches, Dawn learnt here on Saturday.

Well-placed sources said a new train, Karakoram Express, would be flagged off from Karachi on Aug 15, and before it began its journey, platforms were being shortened in various stations so that the train could easily pass through those stations.

They said the body of the 14 coaches, recently imported from China, was wider than those of the Pakistan Railways had. The size of the chassis was of the standardized specification and it could run easily on the tracks, but the wider breadth of its body created problem in various stations where the coaches could not be accommodated, so the platforms were being shortened by 6-9 inches.

Officials of the Pakistan Railways claimed that there was variation in the dimension of the coaches while they moved due to which some of the stations were being renovated. They denied shortening of platforms or any mechanical fault in the imported coaches, and said the railways was making adjustments only.

The officials said formal reservation for Karakoram Express began on Saturday and new computerized tickets were being issued to passengers. After President Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the new train in Islamabad on Aug 14, the Sindh governor would it flag off at Karachi, which would leave for Lahore on Aug 15 at 4:30pm. All of the 14 coaches were lower airconditioned compartments for six passengers each. The railways would provide breakfast and other facilities to the passengers. The fare for a seat with sleeping berth would be Rs1,495.

Commenting on the defective coaches, the sources said engineers of the Pakistan Railways, minister of railways, the chairman of the Railway Board and other high-ranking officers paid several visits to China before finalizing the deal. The Pakistan Railways was wholly responsible for giving China a defective design, the sources claimed.

The sources said the shortening of platform would facilitate the new coaches, but shortened platforms would pose a serious threat to the life of passengers travelling in other trains.

When railway officials at Karachi were contacted for their comments on the matter, they said the General Manager of the Pakistan Railways, Iqbal Samad Khan, based in Lahore, was the appropriate person to comment on the matter. When he was contacted from Karachi by phone for his comments on the issue, his phone operator told Dawn that he was busy at the moment.

The sources maintained that there was no need to import the coaches, and it was the first time that coaches were imported.

They claimed that Pakistan manufactures enough railway coaches for its own needs and also exports coaches to other countries.

They sources said the Carriage Factory in Islamabad and Mughalpura Factory in Lahore had the capability to manufacture railway coaches of international standard. The coaches imported from China were bought at the rate of more than Rs32.5 million apiece. If these coaches had been built in a factory in Pakistan, the cost would have been Rs10 million apiece, the sources claimed. They alleged that those involved in the deal had received kickbacks.

The sources claimed that a locomotive factory in Risalpur had been built with the help of Japan, which provided modern equipment and technology, but it remained unutilized.

Railway officials said the railways would get 175 coaches, of them 40 would be built in China and the remaining 135 at the Carriage Factory in Islamabad through technology transfer. The second consignment of 26 coaches was likely to reach Karachi in the next three months.

They said the railways was procuring passenger coaches valued at Rs7.77 billion from China. Besides, a ship carrying 4,000 tons of rails of UIC 54 specification had also arrived at Karachi from China and the consignment would be unloaded in a couple of days.