KARACHI – On Sunday, China delivered the first 46 of 230 new high-speed passenger carriages to Pakistan Railways.
The Karachi-Lahore main line-1 will convey the new train coaches to Lahore after they reach at Karachi’s port by the end of this month.
In November 2021, Pakistan and China’s CRRC Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company agreed to sell 230 high-speed coaches to Pakistan Railways as part of a plan to improve and upgrade long-distance passenger services in Pakistan.
According to the public relations representative, each passenger train coach will have 80 compartments for air-conditioned and economy class, 30 parlor cars, and 20 vans for luggage and brakes.
He added that 200 freight vans would be imported and that 620 such bogies would be manufactured at the factory.
Under a $140 million contract (approximately Rs31 billion), the Chinese company will build 230 cutting-edge passenger coaches, 46 of which will be shipped fully assembled, and the rest 184 will be built in Pakistan by PR engineers and technical employees under the supervision of Chinese specialists.
It is vital to note that the Khanpur-Kotri section of the ML-1 track must be rebuilt before high-speed rail service can be provided.
