Pakistan Railways is likely to continue service to Karachi in the first week of October, which has been hit hard by sudden monsoon rains and flash floods across the country.
Sources from the Ministry of Railways told APP: “Railway restoration works are being carried out with the help of Frontier Works (FWO), the district railway regulator of Sindh and Pakistan.
They said they are using all available resources to restore railway services in flood-affected areas across the country, following the direction of Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.
A test run of an inspection train was also started to check the maintenance of the tracks, the sources said, adding that the railway authorities had instructed staff in the transportation department to complete the technical work immediately.
As a first step, the decision to start freight train service from October 1 was made dependent on the reduction of water and the opening of signals and bridges.
Pakistan Railways has also instructed affected authorities to complete ongoing investigations of affected war base assets and expedite the recovery process, sources said. It added that the department’s technical and non-technical staff worked in three shifts to restore the track after it pulled out.
“Train services between Quetta and Karachi have been suspended after flooding in the area collapsed a railway bridge and submerged tracks,” they added.
They said about seven to eight bridges were damaged in the remaining section, halting train operations in the flood-affected areas, and “resuming train operations until the floodwaters are cleared from the bridges and tracks.” I couldn’t do it,” he added.
The department used bridge engineers from various sections to repair the damaged bridges and ensured that rail service would resume only after the bridge conversion work was completed.