Pakistan Railways has decided to resume passenger trains to Karachi from October 2, more than a month after it was suspended on August 26 following superfloods in Sindh province.
According to railway spokesperson Khyber Mail, Rehman Baba Express will resume operations to Karachi from October 2.
He said that Karakoram, Karachi Express and Business Express will be run between Karachi and Lahore from October 5. He added that this decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Railway Minister Saad Rafique.
The spokesman said that the duration of the Karachi-Lahore journey has been fixed at 22 hours and more coaches will be added to the trains. Travel duration will be reviewed after 30 days and reduced gradually.
On September 24, railway officials said that the repair work on the track, which was damaged in the devastating floods in the region, would be completed by September 29.
According to officials, “Train bookings for the route will start in the next two days.
On September 20, Pakistan Railways extended the suspension of train operations from Karachi for another 10 days due to damage to the train track from Nawabshah to Khairpur.
The department had issued notification for payment of advance booking fee to the customers.
“Train tracks have started drying up at several places from Nawabshah to Khairpur, while it is under water from Padaidan to Boocheri”, officials said.
The track from Bharia road station to Padaidan is completely dry. Whereas, train operation, with a speed of 15 kmph, may be resumed from Boocheri to Paddidan.
The department is surveying the track condition from Ranpathani station to Khairpur.
