LAHORE: Shortage of wagons and stopping/loading of coal at Khanewal railway junction has put the adequate coal supply to the strategically important 1,320MW Sahiwal coal-fired power plant, a CPEC project, at risk, leaving the plant administration with inadequate stocks for electricity generation.
On the other hand, the Jamshoro coal-fired power plant is also facing a shortage of stocks due to wagons’ shortage, forcing the admin to start shifting to road transport for uninterrupted coal supplies, Dawn has learnt.
“The Ministry of Railways is doing nothing to resolve the issue despite being contacted by the senior officials from Sahiwal and Jamshoro plants, including a couple of senior Chinese executive officers. And it is really very shocking,” deplored an official while talking to Dawn on Sunday.
“When some senior executives took up the issue with the ministry in a recent meeting regarding disallowing loading of coal (transported from Karachi to Khanewal through trucks by road), the latter didn’t do anything, stating that the coal loading would only be allowed from Karachi as per the contract. But when they (the ministry) was asked to ensure adequate provision of wagons at Karachi for coal supply, the reply was just ‘to look into the matter’,” he explained.
The situation is also resulting in severe financial loss to Pakistan Railways in the freight sector besides affecting the country’s power generation capacity.
“The ministry should allow coal loading from Khanewal for Sahiwal Power Plant and ensure adequate wagons availability for Jamshoro Power Plant,” the official, requesting anonymity, sought.
Both Sahiwal and Jamshoro power plants—collectively generating approximately 1,500–2,000MW out of the national total of around 14,000MW—are now operating at critically low coal stock levels. And any disruption in their operations will directly result in an estimated 2.5–3 hours of additional load shedding nationwide, adversely impacting millions of consumers and economic activity across Pakistan. Furthermore, this ministry’s inaction is directly jeopardising Pakistan Railways’ own financial interests as these two power plants alone contribute nearly 30–40% of total railway freight revenue. Due to persistent wagon shortage and operational inefficiencies, Jamshoro plant has already obtained approval from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to shift coal transportation to road (trucks). The Sahiwal Power Plant is also actively pursuing a similar alternative and this shift will result in a substantial and potentially permanent loss of freight revenue for the Pakistan Railways (PR).
Such a situation is avoidable by facilitating loading in ZKBH wagons.
“The failure to implement these measures reflects serious lapses in planning, coordination, and execution at the highest levels,” he said, adding that the loading of coal was already allowed by the PR through a letter till March 25, but it was not renewed.
“Since the matter is of national importance and requires immediate and decisive action, immediate intervention by the prime minister and minister for railways is required to resolve the issue of wagons allocation and operational bottlenecks, fix responsibility for the losses incurred and taking urgent corrective measures to prevent further damage to both national energy security and railway revenues,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that the Sahiwal is very important in terms of its operation as it is required to be operated frequently not only for power generation but also for the stability of the country’s power generation and supply system. Before the start of the operation, 1,000 wagons were allocated for uninterrupted coal transportation from Karachi to Sahiwal.
But with the lapse of time, a number of wagons became defective and eventually removed from the fleet. This forced Sahiwal plant admin to switch to road transport for supply of 80,000 tonnes of the total 300,000 tonnes (one-month stock) from Karachi to Khanewal and then load the coal in ZKBH wagons that are quickly unloaded at the plant by opening from the downside. At Sahiwal plant, the coal transportation through trucks is not allowed under the security standard operating procedures.
“We wonder why the PR has disallowed coal loading from Khanewal since it was earlier allowed not only at this station but also at Kundian station (Mianwali) when the coal was being imported from Afghanistan in the past. What will happen if the coal is allowed to be loaded from Khanewal,” the official argued.
“If the PR is unable to do this, it must provide adequate wagons at Karachi for coal transportation to Sahiwal plant. Also there is shortage of wagons for coal transportation from Karachi to Jamshoro,” he said.
When contacted, Railways Divisional Superintendent (Multan) Hanif Gul said he had been asked to allow loading of the coal—presently dumped at Khanewal in ZKBH wagons for Sahiwal.
“But for further loading, there are no instructions from the ministry. This issue is between the ministry and Sahiwal plant administration,” he added.
Talking toDawn, Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi has dispelled the impression, stating that it is the responsibility of the railways to transport 300,000 tonnes of coal from Karachi to Sahiwal every month under the contract.
“Under the contract, the plant admin is not allowed bring coal by trucks to Khanewal and then ask the railways to provide wagons for onward transportation to Sahiwal. If they (plant admin) get coal through on-spot purchase in addition to the scheduled/regular purchases under the long-term agreement, how can we provide wagons at Khanewal to deal with the on-spot purchased coal transportation?” Mr Abbasi asks, explaining that the ministry has already resolved the issue by assuring the plant admin that wagons would be provided at Karachi.
Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026
