Railways Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi has announced that the newly upgraded Karachi railway station will be inaugurated on September 10.
Speaking to the media during his visit to Faisalabad railway station, Abbasi said that, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision, Pakistan Railways is working on both short- and long-term projects to modernise its services nationwide.
He noted that ticketing has been fully digitised, a train tracking system is operational, ATMs have been installed at major stations, and Wi-Fi is being introduced at 40 Punjab railway stations with support from the provincial government.
He added that by September 30, the outsourcing of certain services will be completed, covering 9 to 11 passenger and freight trains, guest houses, special saloons, hospitals, schools, and other facilities to improve quality and generate more revenue.
Special saloons once reserved for officials are now open to the public at affordable rates.
Abbasi also shared that cleanliness at key stations has been handed over to solid waste management companies, while food quality will be monitored by provincial food authorities.
The Punjab government is investing Rs50 billion in railway improvement projects across eight upgraded routes, and Rs250 billion has been allocated for a new double track and modern signalling system between Lahore and Rawalpindi, reducing travel time to just 2 to 2.5 hours.
Other projects include the Shahdara–Raiwind linear park, upgrades to stations in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Taxila, as well as track improvements from Sheikh Zaid to Kuchlak in Balochistan. Rohri Station will also be upgraded in collaboration with the Sindh government.