Pakistan Railways (PR) has been incurring losses of around Rs. 10 crore per day due to the relentless monsoon rains and the consequent floods all over the country, according to a senior railway official.
The rain and floods have destroyed several railway tracks, and trains have been stalled in the yards, which has rendered several parts of the country inaccessible.
Earlier this month, Quetta was disconnected from the rest of Pakistan after the collapse of the rail bridge at Mach Station, which had resulted in the cancellation of seven important rail trips between Karachi and Quetta.
Pakistan Railways (PR) had announced the suspension of the operation of five express trains on the Main Line-1 (ML-1) a few days ago until the rehabilitation of tracks.
A spokesperson for PR stated that the operations of Awam Express, Pakistan Express, Karakoram Express, Jafar Express, Mohenjo Daro Express, Taizgam Express, Karachi Express, and Bolan Mail Express have been suspended because of floods.
PR CEO, Farrukh Taimur Ghilzai, explained on Monday, “Due to the rain and flood situation in Sindh and Balochistan, we are left with no option but to stop operation [sic] of these trains. It has been done in view of the safety of the passengers.”
“At the moment, on our main line, [sic] the floodwater is flowing over the track between Tando Masti Khan-Gambat and Mehrabpur-Lakhro sections. Similarly, the track is under water at various spots in Balochistan,” he stated.
Ghilzai also noted that trains headed for Quetta from Karachi and Peshawar will stop at Sibi following the destruction of the city’s rail bridge. He added that the National Logistics Cell (NLC) will take over the track restoration work.
Furthermore, passengers who want their tickets refunded can contact the respective PR reservation offices.
