Daily Times

A local train service which was inaugurated by President Arif Alvi on Wednesday is scheduled to begin operating in the city on November 8.

The train will depart from the city station at 7 am and run till 5:45 pm in the evening. It will go through seven stations including Drigh Road, Malir City and Landhi. The ticket would cost between Rs 25 to Rs 80, according to distance.

While delivering his address during the inauguration ceremony, President Alvi congratulated Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed. He said, “Karachi lacked in the sector of public transport. Trains are an effective means of transportation.” Meanwhile, Sheikh Rasheed said that railways and people associated with it were important to the economy of countries. “The local train service has been inaugurated upon the orders of PM Imran Khan”, he announced.

A local train service was inaugurated in the city during 1960’s. “More than two dozen trains would ply on three different routes and carry passengers across the city,” Aijaz-ud-din, a resident told Daily Times. “My grandfather used to travel by train in 60’s and 70’s, and after the end of the tram service, he had to travel in buses like C2, W-11 and KTC bus service, which cost him a lot,” he said. “Now I am very happy that the government of Pakistan has restored the services which were discontinued in the past era”.

Published in Daily Times, November 1^st 2018.