Islamabad: Work on the rehabilitation and upgradation of Main-Line (ML)-1 from Karachi to Peshawar is expected to begin in April, according to a news report. The rehabilitation of ML-1 is one of the important components of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). According to the report, Ministry for Railways has completed preparation for this and proper groundwork will begin within the next two to three months.
Last month, the Pakistani and Chinese authorities had agreed on technical details related to the PKR 900 billion project. The project will be completed in different phases over the next four years. It is expected to cut the distance between Karachi and Peshawar onto Landi Kotal by half.
It has been estimated that under the project, by 2025, the annual freight traffic would increase by 5 to 25 million tonnes and the annual number of passengers on the passenger trains will see a rise of 55 to 80 million.
Apart from upgradation of railway lines, work will be done to improve services for the passengers at the railways stations and the train speeds will increase up to 160 kilometres per hour.
