LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) is working out various proposals seeking revival of Shehsawar passenger train and reviewing of departure/arrival of various trains currently operating on Lahore-Narowal-Sialkot sections.
The proposals are being worked out following the increasing passengers’ demands, according to officials.
“In fact, a number of passengers use to travel on Lahore-Narowal-Sialkot sections on a daily basis keeping in view the low fare and safe and comfortable journey as compared to the road transport. This is why they wrote to the PR management, the minister and others concerned recently,” an official source in the PR told Dawn on Monday.
According to proposals, the passengers have stated that the number of people travelling by train on Lahore-Narowal-Sialkot sections continues to rise due to increase in population, low fares and safe and comfortable travelling as compared to road transport.
Revival of Shehsawar train being considered
According to them, at present, the trains including Narowal passenger train / 211-up/212-down (the train that observes stoppages on most stations on the way) on Lahore-Narowal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz passenger train (209-up/210-down) on Lahore-Narowal, Lasani Express (125-up/126-down) on Lahore-Sialkot via Narowal and Sialkot Express, Sialkot Express / 271-up/172-down (Narowal-Wazirabad via Narowal and Sialkot) and Allama Iqbal Express (9-up/10-down) on Karachi-Sialkot via Lahore and Narowal routes are being operated.
However, the passengers keeping in view the rush have sought to revive operation of Shehsawar train (217-up/218-down) that was closed in 2008 on Lahore-Narowal rail section. “This was the oldest train on this route but was surprisingly closed without any logic. If it is revived, the railway can increase its revenue,” Farhan Shaukat Hanjrah, a representative of the passengers said while talking to this reporter on Monday.
He said the passengers are also of the view that the departure timing of Sialkot express should be changed from 5am to 7:15am since the train is departing with less passengers these days due to too much early time in the morning. Likewise, the timing of Narowal passenger train, which often faces delay daily in actual departure time of 7:15am due to technical issue can be changed to 9:20am.
“Another proposal is to use the Faiz Ahmad Faiz passenger train’s rake, which remains idle at Lahore station for 11 hours or so due to arrival at Lahore at 8am and departure for Narowal in evening at 7:30pm, can be used for the second trip of Shehsawar passenger train if revived.
He said Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi and others have also asked the PR management to work out these proposals.
PRA: The Punjab Revenue Authority has launched an operation against tax defaulters across Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Taxila and Bahawalpur.
During the operation, enforcement teams carried out inspections of 58 marquees and food points. As a result, records from 11 outlets, including a well-known fast-food chain, were impounded. Due to serious irregularities, the records of four prominent hotels were also taken into custody.
In Johar Town, manipulation and tampering with sales records were detected at two branches of a fast-food chain and a renowned restaurant. Furthermore, notices were issued to 40 food points and seven marquees for failing to install the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (E-IMS).
According to a spokesman, collecting tax from the public but failing to deposit it with the government treasury constitutes a criminal offence. Eliminating fake receipts and ensuring a transparent tax collection system remain the authority’s top priorities.
“We urge people to verify e-invoices through the PRA Sahulat mobile application to support transparency and compliance,” he said.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025
