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2.4 Pakistan Railway Assessment

Pakistan Railway Assessment

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The Pakistan Railways (PR) network is comprised of 7, 791 route kilometers; 7, 346km of broad gauge, and 445 km of metre gauge. There are 633 stations in the network, 1,043km of double-track sections (in total) and 285 km of electrified sections. The section of the network Karachi-Lodhran (843km) and 193km of other short sections are double tracks, and 286km from Lahore to Khanewal is electrified. The PR network is also connected to three neighbouring countries: Iran at Taftan, India at Wagha, and Afghanistan at Chaman and Landi Kotal.

The Main Line (official route name) connects the following major stations: Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar. The existing Pakistan Railway network is shown below:

Out of the 7,791 km railway network, double track sections account for 1,043km in total and electrified sections for 285km. The network is classified into 5 sections: Primary A ( 2,124km), Primary B ( 2,622km), Secondary (1,185km), Tertiary (1,416km), and Metre Gauge (439km). The double track sections are only 1,043km and mostly located in the most critical section (Karachi City – Lahore City).

Most of the tracks along the PR network are laid on embankments. There are a total of 14,570 bridges of which 22 bridges are recognized as large scale bridges. Almost all of these were constructed a century ago, and now require rehabilitation work. The PR has 520 diesel locomotives, 23 electric locomotives, and 14 steam locomotives. Most of these are aging and require upgrades.

The signaling system is insufficient for the current operations, and neither is the telecommunication system. There is no back up system, many staff are required to operate the system, and there is low night visibility and restricted train speed. There is a very low priority given by PR for the extension and rehabilitation of the electrified sections. Long distance freight and passenger trains have considerable delays. The PR passenger transport faces severe competition from road transport, and often enough revenue cannot be generated to sustain the system. Unless the PR undergoes major reforms, this mode of transport will become the less preferable choice for inter-city transport of passengers.

PLANT & EQUIPMENT UNIT 2006-2007 2007-2008 2013-2014

Route - Kilometers Kms 7,791 7,791 7,791

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Track - Kilometers Kms 11,636 11,658 11,658

Locomotives No 544 555 100

Coaching Vehicles No 1,670 1,627 500

Other Coaching Vehicles No 246 241 -

Freight Wagons No 19,638 18,638 16,179

Railway Stations No 589 559 510

OPERATIONS UNIT 2006-2007 2007-2008 2013-2014

Passenger, Mixed & other Coaching Trains Run. No 88,871 83,884 60,114

Train Kilometers, Passenger Mixed and other Coaching. Thousand 33,697 33,413 21,325

Coaching Vehicle-kilometers Thousand 592,390 603,445 4,12,902

Freight Train Run No 16,728 18,181 7,325

Freight Train-Kilometers Thousand 7,132 7,338 2,125

Freight Wagon-Kilometres (Freight & Mixed Trains) Thousand 352,290 365,480 1,25,670

Other Coaching Freight Tonne-Kilometres. Thousand 562,705 550,205 3,20,110

Volume of Traffic UNIT 2006-2007 2007-2008 2013-2014

Passengers Carried Thousand 83,899 79,984 42,000

Passengers Kilometers Thousand 26,446,362 24,730,726 17,388,000

Tonnes of  Freight Carried Thousand 6,420 7,234 1.0 M

Tonne - Kilometers Thousand 5,453,969 6,187,299 4.19 M

Tonne - Kilometers Freight & Coaching Combined. Thousand 6,016,674 6,737,504 5,250,730

Freight Wagons Loaded No 320,335 363,564 -

FUEL CONSUMPTION UNIT 2006-2007 2007-2008 2013-2014

Furnace Oil Tonnes 1,499 1,473 1,734

H.S.D. Oil Tonnes 149,133 151,902 1,71,510

Electric Energy KWH 10,942,567 5,810,094 3,970,018

Coal Tonnes 90.150 60.000 -

Progress Made in some of the sectors during 2013-14

Sectors  2012-13    2013-14     Increase

Earnings from Passengers  

Rs: 18 Billions Rs: 25 Billions      Rs:  7 Billions

Earnings from Freight  RS: 1.8 Billions   

 Rs: 4.5 Billions    Rs: 2.7 Billions                                                                                   

The present government came into power in 2013 and inherited 465 locomotives of which 120 were operational. The Govt with concerted efforts now 200 locomotives are operational. To restructure the railways the Government of Pakistan signed an agreement with Chinese led Consortium worth $100 million under which China is to export 69 modern locomotive engines to Pakistan to modernize Pakistan's railway fleet. 23 Locomotives have arrived and inducted in service.

International routes

Completed

India - Thar Express to Karachi and the more famous Samjhauta Express international train from Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar (Attari) and Delhi, India. The weekly Thar Express also runs between Karachi and Bhagat Ki Kothi (near Jodhpur, Rajasthan).Iran - A 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) railway line runs from Zahedan to Quetta, and a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8   in) line is finished from 1

2 Zahedan to Kermanin

central Iran, linking with the rest of the Iranian rail network. On May 18, 2007, a MOU for rail cooperation was signed by Pakistan and Iran under which the line will be completed by December 2008. Now that the rail systems are linked up at Zahedan, there is a break-of-gauge between the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways 1,435 mm (4 ft 8   in) tracks and Pakistan Railway's Indian gauge tracks.1

2[14]

Planned

Afghanistan - Currently there is no rail link to Afghanistan since no railway network is present in that country, however Pakistan Rail has proposed to help build an Afghan Rail Network in three phases. The first phase will stretch from the Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan. The second phase will extend line to Kandahar and the third phase will eventually connect to Herat. From there, the line will be extended toKhushka, Turkmeni

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stan. The final phase would link 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) with Central Asian 1,520 mm (4 ft 11   in). It is not clear where the2732 break-of-gauge station

will be. The proposed line will also be connected the port town of Gwadar via Dalbadin and Taftan, thus connecting the port town to Central Asia.China - There is no link with China however, on 28 February 2007 contracts were awarded for feasibility studies on a proposed line fromHavelian via the Khunjerab Pass at 4730 m above sea level, to the Chinese railhead at Kashgar, a distance of about 750 km. Turkey - An Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad passenger rail service was proposed recently. Meanwhile a container train service was launched by the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani between Islamabad and Istanbul on 14 August 2009. The first train carried 20containers with a capacity of around 750 tons (738 long tons; 827 short tons)  and will travel 6,500 km (4,000 mi) from Islamabad, throughTehran, Iran and on to Istanbul in two weeks' time.[19] According to the Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, after the trial of the container train service, a passenger train will be launched. There are also hopes the route will eventually provide a link to Europe and Central Asia, and carry passengers. Turkmenistan - Via Afghanistan (proposed) - avoiding 1,435 mm (4 ft 8   in) (or narrow gauge) intervening.1

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Construction and Maintenance

Organization Set-Up:

The Freight Business Unit is managed by Additional General Manager, who is assisted by heads of the various Freight Department viz., Chief Commercial Manager, Chief Marketing Manager, (Marketing of Freight Service) Chief Traffic Manager (Dry Ports), Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer/Wagons and Deputy Chief Operating Superintendent (Locomotives).

Corporate Profile:

There are 200 Freight Stations on the this system with 12,000 personal dedicated to provide service to the clients. The Freight Business Unit serves two major Sea Ports, Kiamari and Bin Qasim. Some of the major commodities that are handled include PTA (Chemical for Rayon Manufacturer): Petroleum Oil and Lubricant (POL), Wheat, Coal, Fertilizer, Rock Phosphate, Cement, Sugar, Oil seed Containers and Goods for Transit to Afghanistan.

Corporate Direction:

The Freight Business Unit is a customer oriented department. Its pricing policy is client friendly. All possible efforts are made to reduce cost of transportation and increase revenue through efficiency, innovation and modernization. It proudly serves as the national flag carrier in times of peace, war and calamity.

Pricing Policy:

Pakistan Railways moves cargo on rails at a lesser cost in fuel spent in moving the same cargo by road. The organization by reason of this advantage is able to formulate its pricing policy to the maximum advantage allowable to the customer and the organization. The pricing policy of Railways is that all the commodities be charged on differential basis according to the principle of "What each type of traffic can bear" The rate structure of Pakistan Railways is designed to fix an upper limit while taking into account the basic cost incurred in transport value of commodity, its load ability, susceptible to damage and pilferage along with various other factors. Promotional reduced rates are quoted to provide incentive to move the commodities by Rail of Road. Seasonal reduced rates are quoted to attract the commodity.

Dry Port over the System:

The containerization of cargo and the establishment of Dry Ports were the steps that further facilitated multimodal movement of goods.

Cargo Express:

A Cargo Express Service introduced Since 1974 is now running daily for transportation of general cargo from Karachi City to Badami Bagh / Lahore and Vice Versa. This cargo express has been re-structured with High Capacity and High Speed Wagons along with terminal facilities to increase the present load of 1000 tones to 1600 tonnes A Similar Cargo Service has been initiated between Faisalabad Multan and Karachi and vice versa. Presently, these services are being run five time a week.

Manufacturing & Services Unit

Headed by the General Manager Manufacturing & Services, this unit is composed of:

1.         Concrete Sleeper Factories, ( CSF )

2.         Carriage Factory. Islamabad, ( CFI )

3.         Locomotive Factory, Risalpur.

4.         Rehabilitation Project, Moghalpura Lahore.

5.         Medical and Health Service.

6.         Railway Construction Company ( RAILCOP )

7.         Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services ( PRACS )

8.         Educational Facilities.

Concrete Sleeper Factories ( CSF ): 

Pakistan Railway own five concrete sleeper factories, located at Sukkur, Khanewal, Kohat Cantt Shahinabad and Kotri. The factory at Sukkur was established in 1967, first in the sub-continent. Other four factories came up in 1979-80. 514 Persons are working in CSF / Organization.

Pakistan Locomotive Factory, Risalpur

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The locomotive manufacturing factory was established at Risalpur in 1993 at a total cost of Rs. 2284 million including a foreign exchange component of Rs. 1469 million. It is a modern factory and is equipped with state of the art plant & machinery. This factory is spread over an area of 257 acres, out of which 100 acres are covered by the factory while on the remaining 157 acres is the staff colony.

The design production capacity of the factory is 25 diesel electric locomotives per annum on single shift basis. The production capacity can however be increased by increased by introducing double shifts. The technology for manufacturing of locomotives has been acquired from Hitachi Ltd. Japan, General Electric ( USA ) / Adtranz ( Germany ) and dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works, China. The factory has achieved the design capacity of 02 locomotives per month in the on going project of 69 DE Locomotives.

Pakistan Locomotive factory has so far manufactured 97 new Diesel Electric Locomotives of 2000-3000 hp for Pakistan Railways Besides manufacturing of new locomotives 26 overage Locomotives of 2000-2400 hp have also been rehabilitated by this factory. In addition to this, different spare parts of locomotives are also being manufactured on regular basis for use on Pakistan Railways. The locomotives manufactured in this factory are successfully operating the important main line trains and their performance and reliability's satisfactory. The factory has saved foreign exchange of Rs.1392 million on account of local manufacture.

Locomotive Rehabilitation Project Moghalpura, Lahore

The Diesel Electric Locomotive is the main source of power Traction Service. The expensive unit can not be replaced so frequently. Rehabilitation of Locomotive increases its useful life manifold for further service with less amount of expenditure. On this basis, PR set up a Project in 1976 in the Moghalpura Workshops Lahore, for the Rehabilitation of aging D.E. Locomotives, giving them a new lease of life of 15-20 years.

Railway Constructions Pakistan Limited (Railcop)

Railway Constructions Pakistan Limited ( RAILCOP), a subsidiary of Ministry of Railways was incorporated as a Public Limited Company in 1980 under the Companies Act 1913, with an initial investment of Rs. 0.5 million. Due to progress in construction activities the turnover of the company is Rs.775.0 million during the financial Year 2007-2008.

Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services Limited (PRACS)

Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services ( PRACS ) is public Limited company, which was established in the year 1976 and registered under Company's Act 1913 ( later on converted in to Companies Ordance 1984 ).

Key Route Information

Standard Route Information

  Karachi-Lahore

Karachi-Faisalabad

Karachi-Rawalpindi

Karachi-Peshawar

Track gauge 1067 mm (3'6")

Ruling gradient n/a

Total track distance (single and/or double) n/a

Type of rail (weight and if welded or not) n/a

Type of sleeper and fastenings n/a

Total track travel time n/a

Maintenance (Good, marginal, bad) n/a

Companies-consortiums operating on line n/a

Traffic frequency (monthly/weekly/daily) n/a

Security (Good, marginal, bad) n/a

Main stations (Add details below) n/a

Railway Companies and Consortia

4.1 Pakistan Government Contact List

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