Daily Times

A railway system is an ideal mode for bulk movement of freight cargo and passengers and the rail network of Pakistan comprises 11,881 km. Railways used to be the Government’s priority up to 1970 but it declined due to road development, which has political ownership. The railways have remained neglected by successive governments in the past 5 decades in terms of the allocation of development budget to railways. The main emphasis of the governments remained on the development and expansion of highway and motorways networks. As a result, the performance of the railway system in Pakistan has remained sub-optimal, while the traffic congestion on road infrastructure is increasing day by day. The railway network comprises 3 main corridors i.e. ML-1, ML-2 and ML-3

ML-1 Project Potential for Domestic and Cross-Border Services: There are two transport corridors which connect southern Pakistan (Karachi) with Northern Pakistan (Attock). The first one is ML-1 which originates from Karachi and passes east of the river Indus at Hyderabad. Before crossing the river Indus at Hyderabad, it branches off into ML-2 at Kotri.

The present condition of Mainline 1 is quite average with a maximum speed of 105 km/hr and an average speed of 60 km/hr. To achieve the maximum economic benefit of passenger transportation through the railway, ML-1 must be rehabilitated and upgraded for which a feasibility study has been conducted. The project is included in CPEC and was to be funded through a concessional loan by the Government of China but owing to the poor fiscal health of Pakistan and other factors, the execution of the project has not started and has been inordinately delayed. It is pertinent to mention that ML-I is located in Pakistan’s main National Trade Corridor, connecting all provinces. This project will greatly promote the economic growth of Pakistan and stimulate the demand for regional resource development. Most of the planned ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZ) under CPEC shall also be facilitated for the transportation of raw materials and finished goods from these SEZs.

Most of the planned Special Economic Zones under CPEC also need to be facilitated for the transportation of raw materials and finished goods.

The potential of Domestic Rail Route (ML-2): Main Line-2 of Pakistan Railways runs on the west bank of the river Indus through less populous areas like Dadu, Habibkot, Jacobabad, Kashmore, DG Khan, Kot Addu and Kundian. ML-2 connects with ML-1 at Attock City and its total length is 1254 km. This corridor is suitable for diverting the freight traffic from ML-1 to increase the line capacity of ML-1. The present condition of ML-2 is quite poor with a maximum speed of 70 km/hr and an average speed of only 30 km/hr. It is also best suited for freight traffic coming to or from Karachi or Gwadar ports. Mainline 2 must be rehabilitated and upgraded for which a feasibility study has been conducted.

The potential of Domestic Rail Route (ML-3): Main Line-3 of Pakistan Railways runs from Rohri to Spezand and Taftan. It is the part of ECO route and is best suited to improve trade with Iran and Turkey. ECO transportation corridor comprises of rail link on the route Islamabad – Lahore – Rohri – Sibi – Spezand (Quetta) – Koh-i-Taftan – Zahidan (Iran).

The ECO regulations give preference to rail transport over road transport. Railway track infrastructure from Islamabad to Rohri is in a fairly acceptable condition while that from Rohri to Spezand has speed restrictions due to poor condition. The worst section is from Spezand to Koh-i-Taftan (650 km) where the maximum speed is 30 km/hr while the average train speed is merely 20 km/hr. To improve the ECO transport corridor, a huge investment is required for Quetta – Taftan section. A feasibility study for the upgradation/rehabilitation of Main Line 3 stretching from Rohri to Quetta and onwards to Koh-i-Taftan (Iran border) spread over 966 km has been conducted and its cost has been estimated at USD 1,800 million.

The project of up-gradation of ML-I has been approved and it was planned to link the ML-I with China at Khunjerab from Havelian. The length of this route is 682 KM and it passes through a very difficult hilly terrain due to which its estimated cost is quite high. It will be a direct rail link of Pakistan with China and will play a vital role in the effective utilization of Pakistani ports for the export/import of Chinese goods. Pakistan may gain economic benefits but this project is too costly. Therefore, it was decided to transport goods to and from China through Kara Karam Highway (KKH) in the first phase by establishing a dry port at Havelian.

The up-gradation of ML-I will have the potential for domestic and cross-border services in terms of transportation of freight and passenger efficiently. The project is expected to help in the development of Infrastructure, Energy, IT, Trade, Socio-Economic Indicators, Industrial Cooperation, Education, Culture etc. Also, it will boost the economic development in Pakistan (To be Continued).

Saud Bin Ahsen has done MPA from Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS) Lahore and can be reached at saudzafar5@gmail.com