Pakistan Railways breaks record with longest freight train run

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways has set a record with the longest and heaviest freight train run in their history, ARY News reported.

According to the spokesperson, the freight train, stretching over 2,500 feet and comprising fifty coaches, was propelled by the robust GE U40 locomotive engine.

Departing from Karachi, the train carried over 3,000 tons of cargo to Kotri.

This initiative will not only reduce load on road traffic but also contribute to environmental preservation by minimizing pollution.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Railways (PR) in the first eight months of the financial year 2023-24, achieved a historic increase in its revenue as the earnings surged to Rs50 billion.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakistan Railways, Aamir Baloch, the PR achieved revenue of Rs50 billion in the first eight months of FY2023-24 as compared to last year’s income of Rs32bln.

Baloch lauded the efforts of the Pakistan Railways workers’ commitment and hoped that the revenue likely to surge to Rs80 bln at the end of FY2023-24.

Pakistan Railways is also finalising a plan to procure 230 passenger coaches and 820 High Capacity Wagons under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) aiming help to improve the speed of the trains and ensure adherence to fixed timings.

“Out of the total, around 46 Completely-Built-Up (CBU) passenger coaches have been procured up till now while the remaining 184 would be manufactured in the country and the coaches would be able to travel at the speed of 160km/h,” said an official in the Ministry of Railways.