By the end of December, Pakistan Railways will receive the first shipment of 46 new coaches from China, which will not only upgrade the current rolling stock but also give passengers access to contemporary travel amenities.
According to an official, “out of the total 230 coaches, 46 will be delivered as totally built units, and the remaining 184 will be manufactured in the county by the department’s engineers and technical personnel under the supervision of the Chinese experts.”
He said that the coaches will be capable of operating at a train speed of 160 km/h and that teams from Pakistan Railways were in China to evaluate the coaches’ prototypes as well as contemporary high-capacity waggons.
According to the official, Pakistan Railways’ technical personnel is receiving training on the production of such rolling stock from Chinese experts. He explained that Pakistan Railway had plans to replace the deteriorating track since only a small portion of the Main Line-I (ML-I) was suitable for 120 km/h train operations, whereas the Khanpur-Kotri stretch was.
The entire ML-1 track would be able to support rolling stock operations at a speed of 160 km/h after the completion of the ML-I project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said that a Chinese company will produce 800 freight waggons and 20 brake waggons under a separate deal of a similar sort.
The “Transfer of Technology” initiative would include the production of 184 coaches in Pakistan. The Chinese company will supply raw materials and spare parts for the coaches that were going to be constructed in Pakistan at the Pakistan Railways Carriage Factory in Islamabad, he continued. According to the source, teams from Pakistan Railways comprised 18 officials for design inspections, 20 for other inspections, and the others participating in training related to the transfer of technology.
