Sindh and the federal government have agreed on a major, multi-billion-rupee initiative to overhaul the province’s rail network, with initial work set to begin on the Karachi–Kashmore and Karachi–Tharparkar corridors.
The agreement was reached during a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi.
The chief minister said the provincial government intends to upgrade 100 of the 308 key railway crossings, repair and revive rail infrastructure, and roll out passenger services in phases, introducing six trains in the first stage and six more in the second. He also ordered that funds for the project be released without delay.
Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Principal Secretary to the CM Agha Wasif, and Secretary Transport Asad Zaman joined the discussions, while Pakistan Railways was represented by Secretary Railways Mazhar Ali Shah, General Manager Aamir Baloch, and other senior officials.
Participants reviewed a suburban rail concept designed to provide “city-center to city-center” links, a plan officials believe could serve about 37 million residents.
Under the proposal, about 858 kilometres of track would be rehabilitated across six routes: Kotri–Dadu (181km), Dadu–Larkana–Habib Kot (166km), Hyderabad–Mirpurkhas–Marvi (200km), Rohri–Jacobabad (87km), Jacobabad–Kashmore Colony (124km), and Hyderabad–Badin (100km). Memon said the upgrades could cut travel time on the Kotri–Dadu stretch by roughly an hour and a half.
The project’s overall price tag has been estimated at Rs. 63.26 billion. Of this, Rs. 33 billion is earmarked for infrastructure works, Rs. 27.6 billion for six new DMU train sets, and Rs. 2.66 billion for maintenance and related facilities.
The meeting also endorsed a separate Rs6 billion safety programme to turn 308 high-risk, unmanned railway crossings into manned crossings, aimed at reducing accidents. Murad Ali Shah said the broader objective is to connect underserved parts of Sindh through affordable and safer rail travel, while easing road congestion.
Officials also discussed a near Rs. 1 billion upgrade of Rohri Railway Station, with planned improvements including refurbished platforms, six escalators, renovated station buildings, and a solar-powered water filtration plant. The work is expected to be completed within six months.