Special train units will be imported from China for the upcoming high-speed service between Islamabad and Rawalpindi, scheduled to begin operations on March 23, 2026. The project, aimed at providing modern travel facilities to the twin cities, is being developed under the joint collaboration of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Ministry of Railways.
According to officials, the service will run between Saddar Railway Station in Rawalpindi and Margalla Railway Station in Islamabad. The newly inducted diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains are expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to just 20 minutes. The CDA will manage the operations, while Pakistan Railways will be responsible for maintaining track infrastructure.
The fare structure has also been proposed, with a one-way ticket costing Rs. 50. To maximize accessibility, authorities have recommended extending Margalla Railway Station up to the Ninth Avenue Metro Station, enabling seamless connectivity for passengers.
Once integrated with the Metro network, the train will allow commuters direct access to key destinations, including the Pak Secretariat, Islamabad International Airport, and Srinagar Highway. This step is expected to significantly ease daily travel for office workers, students, and general commuters traveling between the twin cities.
Currently, direct train travel between Islamabad and Rawalpindi is limited to longer-distance routes, such as the Islamabad Express, which connects to Lahore and stops at both Margalla and Rawalpindi stations. The dedicated high-speed service is seen as a major step toward improving urban mobility in the capital region.
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What will be the use of this fast train between Islamabad and Rawalpindi? Where is the track to support this fast train? Will this fast train fly in the air in the absence of ground tracks? Only 6 months are left till March 2026 when the train is to be inaugurated. Precisely what areas will the train cover? These showy and dramatic announcements are meant merely to divert the public attention from the really pressing issues affecting the life of common man.
Corrupt parties like PPP and MQM will never be able to think or act in city like Karachi
Bahee jan – lets something starts first instead of just criticizing – same critics were active when Metro was announced and now citizens are enjoying the smooth travel – I used to go to secretariat by Toyota Hiace then by my car but riding in the Metro is a different experience all together. Hope the bullet train will have a different experience all together
I think one should travel by any train from Peshawar, Pindi or Lahore to Karachi and vice versa then he or she can realize the difference between Reality and the Dream.
Tracks are not capable of holding the available trains they are very weak and fragile missing nuts and bolts replaced by temporary arrangements.
Not the bullet train but before that strong enough tracks are required.
Just travelled in the best available train of Pakistan with compromised services and travel time was more than 24 hours.
Going to Karachi from Rawalpindi Islamabad by train is like a nightmare since decades.
My age above 60 and it’s a dream for me to go to my daughter in Karachi in 6 to 8 hours journey that aged people like me can afford !
This would surely be a white elephant, as was in China itself. They’ve bad reputation of throwing excess junk in other subordinate countries
Have you ever visited China? Or ride the Chinese fast train in Laos or Indonesia?
It’s better to invest in PR on national level. RWP/Islamabad has got good transport between them, we can add more buses in metro.
Without connecting the endpoint to metro network in G9 it will be yet another failed project like Khyber safari and most recently Golra railway station train rides. Where will passengers go after getting out at existing Islamabad railway station?
The train will go to G9 Metro station from where access to Metro routes will be available
You don’t need high speed trains between cities that close and where is the track? You already have a Metro Bus service which can be improved. This doesn’t make sense at all.
A good leap forward
You should start HS train between Lahore and Pindi. Why HS train in Pindi Islamabad? I had good experience of saving time traveling Beijing to Jinan and then Qingdao to Nantong. It has a speed above 300 km/hr.
یعنی کہ کوئی غیرت۔۔۔کوئی حمیت ہے ہی نہیں۔۔۔اس کو کہتے ہیں۔۔۔
پلّے نہ دھیلا۔۔۔کردی میلا میلا۔۔۔
ملک کا خزانہ خالی کر چکے۔۔۔قرضے مانگ مانگ کر زبانیں منہ سے باہر لٹکنے لگی ہیں۔۔۔یہ سپیڈ ٹرین چلائیں گے۔۔۔جو ٹرینیں چل رہی ہیں۔۔۔کبھی ان کی حالتِ زار پر غور کریں تو پتہ لگے گا کہ گدھا گاڑی پر سفر کرنا بہتر ہے۔۔۔آدھا راستہ تو صرف ایک پٹڑی ہے یعنی ایک وقت میں ایک گاڑی گزر سکتی ہے۔۔۔لہٰذا اگر دو ٹرینیں آ رہی ہوں تو۔۔۔ایک کو کئی میل پیچھے روک کر دوسری کو گزرا جاتا ہے۔۔۔ٹرینوں کے اندرونی حالات تو یونہی ناقابلِ بیان ہیں۔۔۔
This is absolutely nonsense. Such high speed train as shown in the picture cannot be operated for small distance. The operational cost would be very high. These trains travel at around 350 Km/h. They are only feasible for long distances.