MIRPURKHAS: The relaunch of Mehran Express between Karachi and Mirpurkhas scheduled for Wednesday (October 15) was deferred due to unavailability of the Railways minister for the inauguration ceremony, it is learnt.

The relaunch of Mousa Express between Lahore and Multan was also postponed due to the same reason, railways sources said.

The local railways officials had finalised arrangements here for a ceremony where the minister was to make a speech and formally announce resumption of the train services.

The extra coaches to be attached to the trains had been kept ready and the relevant information and a schedule for the train services on the Karachi-Mirpurkhas sector was got printed for distribution at the ceremony.

In a statement, PR labour leader Manzoor Razi criticised the last-minute postponement of the ceremony, saying that it had disappointed thousands of people desperately waiting for the resumption of the service after a gap of seven years.

He urged the federal authorities and the Sindh governor and chief minister to ensure resumption of both the train services and approach the railways ministry for an early date for the postponed inauguration ceremony.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2014