The Pakistan Institute of Development Economy (PIDE) has said that the much-anticipated Mainline-1 or ML-1 project will reduce the journey time between cities quite significantly.
The information was shared during a PIDE webinar on the impact of the ML-1 project on the Pakistan Railway (PR) on Tuesday.
Details of @PakrailPK ML-1 Project.
Tariq Anwar Sipra discussing some key aspects of ML-1 project. #PIDEwebinar.Live link: https://t.co/mDsXB4BuaL@nadeemhaque @durre_nayab_ @reenergia @D_AMERZ @PlanComPakistan @drniqbal @khawajaidrees11 @GovtofPakistan @railwaygazette pic.twitter.com/yQRNWXXqKT
— Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) (@PIDEpk) August 31, 2021
The project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and entails a complete infrastructure overhaul of the 1,680 km railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar.
After the upgrade, the speed of trains is expected to increase from 65 to 105 km/h to 120-160 km/h, which will cut the travel times significantly.
Under the project, computer-based signaling and control system, as well as grade separation to ensure the safety of train operations will be introduced.
According to a document shared during the PIDE webinar, the ML-1 project will reduce the journey time between Karachi and Lahore from 18 to 10 hours. Here is how this project will affect the journey time between cities:
| Reduction of Journey Time After Completion of ML-1 Project |
| Â Between Cities | Old Journey Time Reduction (hours) | New Journey Time (hours) |
| Karachi – Lahore | 18 hours | 10 hours |
| Lahore – Multan | 5 hours | 3 hours |
| Islamabad – Lahore | 4 hours 30 minutes | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Peshawar – Islamabad | 3 hours 45 minutes | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Karachi – Hyderabad | 2 hours | 1 hour 20 minutes |
The Deputy Chief Marketing Manager of PR, Tariq Anwar Sipra, who was one of the speakers at the webinar, shared details of various projects under ML-1, including the estimated cost and execution period.
According to Sipra, who also serves as the Traffic Specialist, Project Implementation Unit of ML-1, a 183-kilometers long track will be laid down from Nawabshah to Rohri, a 339-km track from Multan to Lahore, 132-km from Lahore to Lalamusa, a 52-km track from Kaluwal to Pindora. These projects will cost $2,705 million and are estimated to be completed within five years.
Further, a 183-km track will be carpeted from Keamari (Karachi) to Hyderabad, and a 566-km track from Hyderabad to Multan, excluding the Nawabshah-Rohri track. The project will be completed in seven years at the cost of $2,675 million.
The final package includes a 105-km track from Lalamusa to Rawalpindi and a 174-km track from Rawalpindi to Peshawar as well as the establishment of a Dry Port at a cost of $1,376 million.
All these projects will start simultaneously and will be completed within the stipulated timeframe, he added.
But is it approved yet, Chinese banks were reluctant to approve loan for this particular project