Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1886 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns 7,540 kilometres (4,690 miles) of operational track, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger services, covering 488 operational stations across Pakistan.
In 2014, the Ministry of Railways launched Pakistan Railways Vision 2026, which seeks to increase PR's share in Pakistan's transportation sector from 4% to 20%, using the Rs. 886.68 billion (US$3.2 billion) China–Pakistan Economic Corridor rail upgrade. The plan includes building new locomotives, development and improvement of current rail infrastructure, an increase in average train speed, improved on-time performance and expansion of passenger services. The first phase of the project was completed in 2017, and the second phase is scheduled for completion by 2021. Among them is the ML-1 project, which will be completed in three phases at a cost of Rs. 1.11 trillion (US$4.0 billion). Until October 2022, these projects have not started construction or tendering.
Pakistan Railways is an active member of the International Union of Railways. In the 2023–24 financial year, Pakistan Railways carried 42.1 million passengers and 5.7 million tonnes of freight. Currently, it is suffering from poor maintenance.
Mazhar Ali Shah is the current federal secretary and chairman for Pakistan Railways.
History
North-Western State Railway (1886–1905)
In 1855, during the British Raj, several railway companies began laying track and operating in Sindh and Punjab. The country's railway system was originally a patchwork of local rail lines operated by small, private companies, including the Scinde Railway, Punjab Railway, Delhi Railway and Indus Flotilla. In 1870, the four companies combined to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway. Several other rail lines were soon built, including the Indus Valley State Railway, Punjab Northern State Railway, Sind–Sagar Railway, Sind–Pishin State Railway, Trans–Baluchistan Railway and Kandahar State Railway. These six companies merged with the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway to form the North Western State Railway in 1886.
North-Western Railway (1905–1961)
The North Western State Railway was renamed as North Western Railway in 1905.
Following the partition of British India and independence of Pakistan in 1947, most of the North Western Railway infrastructure became part of the Pakistani territory. The country adopted 8,122 km (5,047 mi) of the North Western State Railway; 6,880 km (4,280 mi) was 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in), 506 kilometres (314 mi) was 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge, and 736 kilometres (457 mi) was 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge.
In 1954, a branch line was extended from the Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line to Mardan and Charsada. Two years later, the Jacobabad–Kashmore metre-gauge line was converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge.
Pakistan Western Railway (1961–1974)
On 1 February 1961, the North-Western Railway was renamed the Pakistan Western Railway. In East Bengal, the portion of the Assam Bengal Railway in Pakistani territory was renamed the Pakistan Eastern Railway.
The Kot Adu–Kashmore section of the Kotri–Attock Railway Line was built from 1969 to 1973, providing an alternate route from Karachi to northern Pakistan.
Pakistan Railways (1974–present)
In 1974, Pakistan Western Railways was renamed Pakistan Railways. In February 2006, the 126-kilometre (78 mi) Hyderabad–Khokhrapar Branch Line was converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). All narrow-gauge tracks in the country were converted to broad gauge or dismantled during the 2000s. On 8 January 2016, the Lodhran–Raiwind Branch Line double-rail project was completed.
Structure
Pakistan Railways is a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Railways (MoR) of the government of Pakistan, tasked with and primarily responsible for planning, administering and establishing passenger rail service and regulating railway companies and industries. Pakistan Railways policy and development are administered by the ministry. From 1947 to 1959, the Pakistan Western Railway and Pakistan Eastern Railway were administered by the Railway Division of the Ministry of Communications, headed by the Director General of Railways (DG Railways) in the ministry. In 1959, an ordinance was passed by Parliament outlining the need for a semi-autonomous railway board. The board was conceived in accordance with the principal powers of the central government as stipulated in the Railways Act IX of 1890. After the first session of the third national assembly, President Muhammad Ayub Khan issued Presidential Order 33 on 9 June 1962. The order directed the transfer of control of both railways (PWR and PER) from the central government to the provincial governments of West Pakistan and East Pakistan, respectively. When PO 33 came into effect on 1 July 1962, railway boards were established by both provinces (repealing the Railway Board Ordinance of 1959).
The presidential order reinstated a separation convention that began in the fiscal year 1961–62, which kept railway finances separate from general finances and gave each board more autonomy. In 1974, the Ministry of Railways was established to handle planning, policy-making, technical advice, and management of the railway. In 1982, a presidential order merged the Ministry of Railways with the Railway Board, creating a federal ministry.
Railway Board
The Railway Board, in existence from 1959 to 2000, was modified with an executive committee from 2000 and 2014. The Railway Board was reconstituted on 20 February 2015. The Board members are:
Federal Secretary Railways (Chairman of Board)
Federal Secretary Communications
Finance Secretary of Pakistan
Planning and Development Secretary of Pakistan
General Manager Railways (Operations)
General Manager Railways (Manufacturing and Services)
Member Finance, Ministry of Railways
Units and divisions
Pakistan Railways has three functional units: operations, manufacturing and welfare and special initiatives. The operations unit is divided into three main departments. The Infrastructure Department oversees civil engineering, signaling, telecommunications, design and the directorate of property. The Mechanical Engineering Department oversees mechanical engineering, purchasing, stores and electrical engineering, and the Traffic Department oversees passenger facilities, operations, marketing and the directorate of information technology. Several smaller departments, including personnel, railway police, planning, legal affairs, public relations and the Pakistan Railways Academy, are also part of the operations unit.
The railway has seven territorial operating divisions:
In addition to these seven divisions, the Mughulpura Division in Lahore is primarily engaged with maintenance of rolling stock.
Rolling stock
Pakistan Railways has 190 working diesel-electric locomotives. The average life of the fleet is 25 years, and they are serviced at the Pakistan Locomotive Factory.
In January 2016, the railway ordered 800 hopper wagons from Jinan Railway Vehicles Equipment. The first 205 wagons will be built in China, and the remaining 595 wagons will be assembled at the Moghalpura Railway Workshops in Pakistan. The wagons will carry coal to power stations in Karachi and Qadirabad.
In 2017, 55 additional locomotives (4000 horsepower) manufactured in the United States were added to the Pakistan Railways fleet.
In July 2025, the operator decided to hand over the commercial management of 11 trains to the private sector in an effort to improve travel facilities and increase revenue. These included Hazara Express, Bahauddin Zakaria Express, Millat Express, Subak Kharam Express, Rawal Express, Badar Express, Ghori Express, Ravi Express, Thall Express, Faiz Ahmed Faiz Passenger, and Mohenjo Daro Passenger. The infrastructure and regulatory control of the trains were retained by Pakistan Railways, however.
Manufacturing
Pakistan Locomotive Factory Risalpur
The Pakistan Locomotive Factory was established in Risalpur in 1993 at a cost of Rs. 228.4 million (US$820,000). Its function is to manufacture indigenous diesel electric and electric locomotives, thus allowing Pakistan Railways to have less dependency on foreign technology. The factory has capacity to manufacture 25 locomotives per year. Technology for manufacturing of locomotives has been acquired from Hitachi Japan, General Electric, ADtranz Germany and Dalian Locomotives & Rolling Stock Works, China.
Carriage Factory Islamabad
Pakistan Railways Carriage Factory, Islamabad was set up in 1970 under the technical collaboration of LHB, Germany for manufacture of passenger carriages. The capacity of the Factory is 150 passenger coaches per year on single shift basis.
Moghalpura Railway Workshops
The Moghalpura Railway Workshops, on the Lahore–Wagah Branch Line at Moghalpura Junction railway station (MGPR) in Lahore, are one of several rolling-stock repair sites. The workshop complex emerged at its present site in 1904 to manufacture, repair and overhaul passenger coaches and freight wagons for the North Western State Railway. In 1947, it was the only state-of-the-art workshop for Pakistan Railways. After partition, the Moghalpura Railway Workshops continued to host some 14,000 workers specializing in engineering skills.
Concrete Sleeper Factories
The railway owns four concrete sleeper factories in Sukkur, Khanewal, Kohat, and Kotri. The first factory was established in Sukkur in 1967, and the other three factories were opened between 1981. A fifth factory, at Shaheenabad, was closed in 1996 due to financial constraints and the scarcity of water.
Network
Lines
The Pakistan Railways network is divided into main lines and branch lines. The Karachi–Peshawar Line is the main north-south line, and the Rohri–Chaman Line is the main east-west line.
Main lines
Main Line 1 (ML-1) Karachi–Peshawar Line
Main Line 2 (ML-2) Kotri–Attock Line
Main Line 3 (ML-3) Rohri–Chaman Line
Main Line 4 (ML-4) Quetta–Taftan Line
Main Line 5 (ML-5) Taxila–Khunjerab Line
Branch lines
Tracks
The Pakistan Railways network comprises 7,791 route-kilometres (7,479 km of broad gauge and 312 km of metre gauge). There are 1,043 km of double-track sections (in total).
The broad-gauge track axle load limit is 22.86 tonnes, except for the Rohri–Chaman Line (limit 17.78 tonnes) and Quetta–Taftan Line (limit 17.27 tonnes). The maximum speed on most lines is 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph), but upgraded sections of the Karachi–Peshawar Line allow speeds up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). In future, Pakistan Railways aim to upgrade all main lines to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).
Electrification
The Lahore–Khanewal line was electrified at 25 kV AC, but electric service had ceased by 2011. The theft of overhead wire was cited as a reason. The future electrification with 25 kV AC requiring minimum overhead wiring height must be 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in) above top of rail and minimum track center spacing must be 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in), and platform height must be no more than 200 mm (7.9 in) above top of rail, to prevent catenary thefts.