Pakistan Railways announces launch of new state-of-the-art train

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways has announced to launch a new state-of-the-art business train from this week, ARY News reported.

The new train will feature twenty-eight digitally equipped coaches, complimentary Wi-Fi, and an international-standard Dining Car, offering the passengers a modern and comfortable travel experience.

The new train service, which will run between Lahore and Karachi, aims to deliver a significantly enhanced travel experience to the passengers.

In a separate development, the PR plans to outsource various services, including the commercial management of passenger trains.

According to an official from the Ministry of Railways, Pakistan Railways generated over Rs 3,959 million in revenue from the operation of brake and luggage vans over the past three years.

“These operations were carried out both directly by Pakistan Railways and through outsourcing to private contractors,” the official told state-run APP.

He said that the luggage vans have been outsourced through a transparent bidding process during this period. “The outsourcing is done via open tenders which are publicly advertised by the department,” the official said.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan Railways achieved a record revenue of approximately Rs 83 billion over the past 11 months, representing an increase of almost Rs 6 billion compared to the same period last year, officials stated.

Out of the total revenue, passenger trains contributed Rs42 billion, while freight trains generated Rs29 billion. According to Pakistan Railways officials, an additional Rs12 billion was earned through other sources.

Giving breakup, the officials said that Karachi Division led with Rs13 billion from passenger trains and Rs25 billion from freight trains.

Lahore Division stood second, earning Rs10 billion revenue from passenger trains and Rs0.75 billion from freight trains. Both Rawalpindi and Multan Divisions recorded around Rs4 billion each from the passenger sector.