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The Senate was informed about the recently signed agreement with China for ML-1, that it will be upgraded from Peshawar to Karachi under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Project.
The ML-1 project will be completed in the next five years. A 1,872km-long track from Peshawar to Karachi will be laid out in addition to the existing one – turning it into a double track route– at a cost of $8.2 billion. The track will be fenced under the project. Bridges and crossings will also be constructed.
Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid told the house during question hour that this project will see replacement of existing track with new one and the installation of new signaling system.
The main line will cover Karachi to Peshawar via Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Rohri, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Lahore, Gujran-wala, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
The ML-1 project is expected to create 20,000 direct and 150,000 indirect jobs.
He said Pakistan Railways is playing a vital role in the transportation of goods across the country. For this, PR increased freight trains from eight to twelve.
Scope:
- Doubling of entire track from Karachi to Peshawar
- Speed of passenger trains to be raise from 65/110km/h to 160 km/h
- Freight trains to operate at 120 km/h
- Computer based signaling and control system
- Grade separation to ensure safety of train operations
The project will increase the speed of passenger trains from the current 65km-110km per hour to 160km per hour, while freight trains will be operated at 120km per hour.
The travel time from Rawalpindi to Karachi will reduce from 22 hours to 10 hours. A train will reach Lahore from Rawalpindi in just 2.5 hours. The number of trains will double with the completion of the project. The freight share will increase to 20% which is currently less than 4%.
Under phase-I of the project, four sections will be completed in a period of three to four years. Except for one, almost all these section will be built from Rawalpindi to Lahore.
A 52-km-long second line for running 120km per hour high-speed train will be constructed from Kaluwai to Pindora. The other sections include upgrading of Nawabshah-Rohri section of 183km, Lalamusa-Rawalpindi section of 118km, and Lahore-Lalamusa section of 132km. The upgrading of Walton Railway Academy with a reduced scope is also part of phase one.
In the second phase that will also take over three years to complete, Multan-Lahore section and Kaimari-Hyderabad section will be constructed. The dry port at Havelian will also be part of the second phase but its scope has been reduced.
In the third phase, Pakistan and China have agreed to construct a Rawalpindi-Peshawar section and Hyderabad-Multan section.
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