KARACHI: Pakistan Railways is learnt to have reconsidered its decision to discontinue the stop of the Bahauddin Zakaria Express at Jungshahi Railway Station after public outcry.

The sudden decision taken recently had sparked widespread outrage across the districts of Thatta and Sujawal, where most commuters rely on train journey to Karachi.

Talking to Dawn, PR divisional commercial officer Sheena Ghani said that the decision to discontinue the train’s stop had been taken by the department’s chief planning officer after an assessment of revenue generation.

She said it was taken in view of revenue loss as a very small number of passengers used to board or disembarked at the Jungshahi station.

She said that a request to restore the stop had been forwarded to the Railways headquarters on public demand.

The move to discontinue the stop had left local residents, civil society activists and traders deeply concerned as it was being viewed as unjust.

Residents of the two districts argue that the Jungshahi station had been serving as a vital transport link for the people of southern Sindh, connecting them to major cities such as Multan, for many years. They accuse the PR authorities of failing to allocate the reservation quota for the station.

They said that the lack of booking facilities had created a false impression of under-utilisation of the railway station, leading to the move to discontinue the stop.

The residents expressed frustration over having to travel to Karachi or Hyderabad to buy train tickets, an inconvenience which, they say, contributed to the station being wrongly labeled as unprofitable.

Residents of Thatta and Sujawal said that they had submitted formal appeals to key railway officials, including Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi, PR CEO Amir Baloch and Divisional Superintendent at Karachi Nasir Khalili against the move.

The residents also demanded introduction of a dedicated reservation quota and inclusion of the station in both online and offline ticketing systems to enhance revenue potential and improve accessibility for local travelers.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2025