14 railway tracks renovated

islamabad — Pakistan Railways has carried out track upgradation work on 14 different routes across the country during the last five years.

“The routes included KarachiHyderabad, Kotri-Dadu, Dera Murad Jamali-Sibi, Khanpur-Multan, Lodhran-Pakpattan, FaisalabadSheikhupura, Multan-Lahore, Lahore-Lalamusa, Peshawar-Attock City, Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Multan-Kot Addu, Kot Addu-Mianwali, Sibi-Khost and HyderabadRohriKhanpur,” an official said.

The railways has rehabilitated 789.34km-long track by removing temporary speed restrictions and increasing speed limits to ensure sustainable train operation, he added.

Giving a provinces-wise list of the rehabilitated track, the official said 397.05km track was rehabilitated in Punjab, 215.60km in Sindh, 23.69km in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 153km in Balochistan.

To a question, he said that restoration of 134km-long track and other allied works on the Sibi-Khost line was nearing completion.

He said a feasibility study for the Quetta-Taftan section and its up-gradation to a speed of 160/120kmph is under process which will be completed within the current financial year.

“This section has been earmarked for up-gradation under a public private partnership on build–operate–transfer (BOT) basis,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the railways is planning to utilise 10,913 acres barren land by executing various projects to earn more revenue for the department.

“Pakistan Railways has 8,424 acres of barren land in Punjab, 1,346 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 263 in Sindh and 880 acres in Balochistan,” sources in the Ministry of Railways said.

Giving details, they said the department owns 167,690 acres across the country, out of which 9,0326 are situated in Punjab, 39428 in Sindh, 28,228 in Balochistan and 9,708 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said that Pakistan Railways had leased out 15,172 acres for various purposes across the country and 3,330 acres are under encroachments of different government departments and individuals. — APP