Pakistan Railways

Pakistan Railways
Native name
پاکستان ریلویز
Company typeState-owned enterprise
IndustryRail transport
PredecessorNorth Western State Railway
Pakistan Western Railway
Founded1861 (163 years ago) (1861)
Headquarters
Lahore-54010
,
Pakistan
Area served
Pakistan
Key people
Services
RevenueIncrease Rs. 48.65 billion (US$170 million)[1] (2020–21)
Increase Rs. −45 billion (US$−160 million)[2] (2018–19)
OwnerGovernment of Pakistan (1947–present)
Number of employees
72,078[3] (2016–17)
ParentMinistry of Railways
Divisions07
Subsidiaries1
Website
Pakistan Railways (PR)
Operation
Infrastructure companyPakistan Railways (PR)
System length
Total7,789 kilometres (4,840 mi)
Double track1,043 kilometres (648 mi)
Track gauge
Main1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Features
Longest tunnelKhojak Tunnel
No. stations488
Map

Pakistan Railways (reporting mark PR) (Urdu: پاکستان ریلویز) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan with its headquarters in Lahore. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns 7,789 kilometres (4,840 miles) of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger services, covering 488 operational stations across Pakistan.

In 2014, the Ministry of Railways launched Pakistan Railways Vision 2026, which seeks to increase PR's share in Pakistan's transportation sector from 4% to 20%, using the Rs. 886.68 billion (US$3.1 billion) China–Pakistan Economic Corridor rail upgrade. The plan includes building new locomotives, development and improvement of current rail infrastructure, an increase in average train speed, improved on-time performance and expansion of passenger services. The first phase of the project was completed in 2017, and the second phase is scheduled for completion by 2021. Among them is the ML-1 project, which will be completed in three phases at a cost of Rs. 1.11 trillion (US$3.8 billion).[4] Until October 2022, these projects have not started construction or tendering.

Pakistan Railways is an active member of the International Union of Railways. In the 2018/19 financial year, Pakistan Railways carried 70 million passengers. Currently, it is suffering from bad maintenance.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Railways revenue increases by Rs1b in 2020-21". Daily Times. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  2. ^ Shehzad, Rizwan; Ahmed, Waqas (14 December 2020). "Railways suffers loss of Rs45b in 2018-19". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  3. ^ Year Book 2017–2018 (PDF). Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan. 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  4. ^ Hasnain, Khalid (21 April 2021). "Railway project sent to Chinese bank for approval of $6bn loan". Dawn. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  5. ^ Qureshi, Naeem (20 August 2019). "Pakistan Railways achieves record income in 2018-19". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Pakistan Transport Plan Study in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (PTPS)" (PDF). openjicareport.jica.go.jp. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2023.