Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, China, CARs to be linked by rail: Musharraf

[Owais]

Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, China, CARs to be linked by rail: Musharraf


KHANEWAL (updated on: December 18, 2006, 22:06 PST): President Pervez Musharraf on Monday said Pakistan will be linked to Iran, Afghanistan, China and Central Asian Republics (CARs) by rail unfolding numerous opportunities for progress and prosperity of the country.

The mega project being executed by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), will be completed in December 2007 at a cost of Rs 5.5 billion.

Governor Punjab Lt Gen (R) Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Minister of State for Railway Muhammad Asjid Malhi also attended the event.

President Musharraf regretted that the governments in the past ignored Pakistan Railway - a vital organ of the state having lots of potential to generate more revenue to supplement country's economy.

The president appreciated Federal Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed's initiative to undertake the dual carriageway project and offered his fullest support in modernising the railway.

He said the whole nation, the Railway and FWO officers and workers deserve heartiest congratulations for accomplishing this historic job which will be completed only in one year instead of the stipulated five year period.

He lamented that while bullet and magnetic levitation trains had been introduced in many countries with speeds up to 300 km while trains in Pakistan were running at a speed of 80 km per hour. He said with the completion of dual carriageway the trains would run at 140 kilometres.

He said it was his desire to see delivery of goods delivered from Karachi to Peshawar in just one day by trains.

President Musharraf, referring to Sheikh Rashid's proposal for dualisation of Lahore-Rawalpindi track, said a feasibility study will be conducted in this concern. President called for having a standard gauge track instead of meter and broad gauge track.

He said Pakistan Railway's old gauge track requires modification for the imported locomotives and bogeys which was quite expensive, so the track needs to be standardised in a phased programme.

President Musharraf said after the dualisation of Lahore-Pindi track the trains should run at a speed of 250-300 km per hour on this section.

He said after the completion of dual carriageway the Lahore-Karachi journey will be cut down to only 10 hours. He appreciated Railway's plan to remove curves on Lahore-Pindi section which will reduce the travel time to just two and a half hours.

The president said in the past, roads were the focus of all attention but railway's potential was never tapped. As a result, road traffic snarls have become an order of the day.

He said that railway mass transit system in big cities is a dire need of the hour so that traffic jams are cured and traffic load on the roads is reduced.

Later, President Musharraf witnessed track-laying by the FWO engineers and workers. He praised their skill and devotion.

Minister for Railway Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in his welcome address said more economy trains will be introduced, fare was down and now speed was being improved so that more people can travel by rail. He said two million more passengers had availed the railway travel facility after he took charge of the ministry.

Sheikh Rashid said booking had been computerised which helped in enhancing the railway business. He said now he would focus on freight trains to generate more revenue from this sector.

[ali ahmad]

by conectin iran and gawadr to peshawar and then to china afghanistan and CARs will boast pakistani economy.there is an other project of motoways following the path and roads and rails will exten to turkeyy via iran under ECO agreements

[ali ahmad]

Motorways of Pakistan
Route Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Northern Areas Total (Km)
M-1 Islamabad-Peshawar
67 - 88 - 155
M-2 Lahore-Islamabad 367 - - - - 367
M-3 Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad 53 - - - - 53
M-4 Faisalabad-Multan - - - - - -
M-5 Multan-D.G.Khan 65 - - - - 65
M-6 D.G.Khan-Retodero
- - - - - -
M-7 Karachi-Kakar
- 303 - - - 303
M-8 Retodero-Gwadar - - - 1072 - 1072
M-9 Karachi-Hyderabad - 136 - - - 136
M-10 Karachi Northern Bypass - 56 - - - 56
Total 552 495 88 1072 - 2207

[Neo]

Karachi is already linked to Istanbul via Zahidan under the former RCD programme but the highway needs overhauling badly.

A railway link under the same however was never completed and links Karachi and Quetta to Zahidan only.

Iran would be interested to link Chabahar via Meshad to Ashqabat in Turkmenistan just over the border to avoid risky Afghan territory.
The CAR capitals are already interlinked from the Russian era.

This could be a major boost regional economy.

[Janbaz]

This will be of great benifit to the economy.