MIRPURKHAS, Aug 23: A survey for laying a new railway line as well as rehabilitation and maintenance of the old Mirpurkhas-Islamkot track has been completed by the Pakistan Railways , following selection of the track for transporting coal from Thar.

This was said by assistant executive engineer (railways) Abdul Ghafoor Sanjrani while talking to journalists here on Monday. He said that following the discovery of coal in Thar and under process of the China power plant, the government had selected the old 107km long Mirpurkhas-Naokot track which was three feet and three inches wide.

Under the plan, the said track would be widened to five feet and six inches, and would be maintained properly, he added. He said that the new 102km long track would be laid between Naokot and Islamkot, on which trains could run at a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour. The government had allocated a generous amount for the scheme which included six railway stations, the AEN concluded.