After the overwhelming success of the first dedicated freight train which was launched last year, another dedicated freight train has been launched. The freight train is aimed at facilitating the importers and exporters wishing transport goods safely and economically. Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid has vowed to add 20 more freight and 20 passenger trains by the end of this year. He revealed to the media that the previous freight had transported around 15,000 tons of goods in its first month. The potential in the PR’s freight train service is some Rs30 billion. Railway has saved more than one million litres in just four months. Pakistan Railways Freight Transport Company (PRFTC) and Marine Group began the freight service under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP). It was also revealed that Pakistan Railway will shift the headquarters of freight train service from Lahore to Karachi to facilitate importers and exporters besides local traders.
ML-1 (Main Line 1) Project that is meant for replacing tracks from Karachi to Peshawar will be initiated very soon. On replaced tracks, trains would run at the speed of 160 per kilometer. After the introduction of cargo handling, the business community’s trust has improved on railways. Exporters are switching to the freight trains considering it more economical and safe said Managing Director (MD) Marine Group Asim Siddiqui.
