Railways focuses on rehabilitating damaged tracks in Sindh, Balochistan

While the rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas in Pakistan gets attention, Pakistan Railways seems to have turned its focus towards rehabilitating its infrastructure badly affected by the floods in two massively-hit provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Sindh and Balochistan received 500 and 400 percent more rain than their annual historic precipitation which played havoc with the infrastructure and livelihood of the people of these provinces, Even now, thousands of families look for rehabilitation there.
Pakistan Railways is supposed to get a sum of Rs 14 billion as part of the federal government effort for the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure massively damaged by the devastating rains and floods in Balochistan.
Railways officials reportedly claim the funds will specifically be utilized for the rebuilding of the railway infrastructure damaged in Balochistan province.
In the aftermath of rain-induced floods, Pakistan Railways suspended in August its train operations at various sections, mostly in Balochistan and Sindh, after the flash floods washed away the tracks in the provinces.
Moreover, train operations remained suspended during the second week of August at the Narowal-Sialkot section after the Nullah Dek overflowed and washed away the railway line. However, Pakistan Railways resumed these operations after reconstructing the affected track within a couple of days.
While at the end of November, three months after the floods in Balochistan, Pakistan Railways succeeded in restoring train operations linking the province with Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Coupled with the rehabilitation and rebuilding of railways damaged infrastructure, Pakistan Railways is also planning to restore all the closed sections in Balochistan province which could not only generate revenue for the department but also facilitate the masses.
“The decision will facilitate the local people of the province and also boost the business activities for the small business owners,” an official is quoted as saying in a report.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, the report further says is keen in this regard and has directed the department for making a plan for the restoration of different sections to generate income in the province.
Pakistan Railways, as is being reported has also planned to initiate rehabilitation work on a 33-kilometer track through sleeper renewal between Quetta-Bostan and Quetta-Chaman sections.
“The track will not only facilitate the passengers but also connect three major cities of the province, officials told a state news agency.
They said the railway network in Balochistan province mainly consisted of Quetta Division having Dera Allah Yar-Sibi-Quetta, Quetta-Chaman, Sibi-Khost, Spezend-Dalbandin-Taftan, Bostan-Zhob which were closed for the last 15 years. The official said there were two passenger trains Jaffer Express (40Up, 39 Down) and Chaman Passenger (349Up, 350 Down) operating in Balochistan while no stations had been closed during the last 15 years in the Quetta division.
The overall length of the railway track in Balochistan was 1,470.36 kilometers including the closed Bostan-Zhob section. “Most of the track is more than 100 years old and on certain stretches, engineering speed restrictions have been imposed due to deferred maintenance and owing to resource constraints,” he said, adding that the routine maintenance of the track was being carried out with available resources.
To improve railway services in Balochistan, the department was taking several steps including approval of PC-I for the track’s rehabilitation and the rehabilitation of another 100-km track between Ahmedwal Dalbadin on the Quetta-Taftan section. The official said that rehabilitation work of the track between Nokundi Kohi-Taftan on QuettaTaftan section and 160.024 kilometers of track between BostanChaman on the Quetta-Chaman section would be carried out. – ERMD