Upgradation of Railway track from Faisalabad to Gwadar demanded

Chairman of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry standing committee on railway has said that up-gradation of railway track from Faisalabad to Gwadar is imperative to run maximum cargo and passenger trains to ensure speedy transportation of exportable surplus from the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) established under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in M3 Industrial Estate.
"After the sale of 90 percent land in M3 Industrial Estate, Allama Iqbal Industrial city spanning over 3,000 acre land is also being developed," FCCI committee chairman Mirza Hadiyatullah said, presiding over a meeting of the body. He added that Punjab government also sanctioned funds for the purchase of private land for this proposed industrial estate. He said that Faisalabad would emerge as main industrial hub of the country. Then, an efficient and reliable road and rail link would be required to transport the exportable surplus to Gwadar port for its onward shipment to the various international destinations.
"In this connection, rehabilitation and up gradation of existing railway track is most important," he said, emphasising that in the first phase, track between Faisalabad-Lahore, Khanewal, Wazirabad and Sargodha sections should be upgraded and dualized to run high speed trains without any interruption.
He said this track could also be expanded further to link Faisalabad with other major business cities of the country in the later phase. He told the huddle that population-wise, Faisalabad is the third biggest city of Pakistan while thousands of people daily travel to and from it. He said that Faisalabad is blessed city in terms of motorways which pass on its right and left. However, for the transportation, luggage train is the most efficient, speedy, safe and cheapest means of communication.
Referring to the history of train movement from Faisalabad, he said, 35 years ago, trains were successfully running between Faisalabad and Lahore after every half an hour. He said those were getting surplus load and passengers have to stand for almost two hours for travel in these trains.
Mirza lamented that these profitable routes were closed which turned railways into a loss making public sector organisation. He said that revival of profitable rails routes is imperative to revive the profitability of Pakistan Railways. He demanded non-stop trains between Faisalabad and Lahore after every hour. "These trains must have half boughs of lower AC to accommodate the middle class that prefer to travel through trains instead of luxurious road transport," he proposed.
The FCCI standing committee chairman further said that similarly, the linkages between Faisalabad and Multan, Karachi, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Sargodha and Peshawar may also be restored forthwith. He criticised the railways for not preferring cargo trains despite their profitability as compared to the passengers' trains. He said that the luggage booked by trains is delivered after many days while the load dispatched through trucks is delivered next day to various destinations within the country. He demanded that parcel and cargo trains should also be run according to fixed schedule like passengers trains. He also demanded immediate repair of the existing screening machine in addition to arranging two additional machines at Faisalabad railway station to facilitate the passengers.