Pakistan’s railway sector is not “on rails” and the sector seems to be wrapped around a single institution, Pakistan Railways (PR)—managed collectively by the Ministry of Railways (MoR) and PR. The crisis in PR started in the 1970s and continues to this date. The passenger traffic has reduced, freight traffic has truncated, revenues have scaled down while working expenses have soared. Mainline-1 (ML-1) is an important project of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It entails a complete infrastructure overhaul of the 1,680 km railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar. After the upgrade, the speed of trains is expected to increase from 65 to 105 km/h to 120-160 km/h, which will cut the travel time between the two cities to half. Computer based signaling and control system. Grade separation to ensure safety of train operations.
This webinar intends to discuss What type of model the ML-1 will follow to benefit Pakistan Railway? Should we not set up a new completely independent railway company for ML-1 so that we proceed with ML-1 without even asking Pakistan railways and just continuing developing? Is it’s easier to get rid of the ministry of Pakistan Railway than the get rid of the Pakistan railways? How will ML-1 help Pakistan Railways to get rid of losses?
ISLAAH: The Immediate Reform Agenda for Pakistan
April 1, 2024
