PM Shehbaz orders faster ML-1 work and corporate reforms in railways

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to speed up work on the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway upgrade and to bring corporate-style reforms to Pakistan Railways.

He gave the instructions while chairing a meeting on the railways in Islamabad, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. ML-1 is the country’s main rail artery, and the upgrade is meant to modernise track and infrastructure to improve freight and passenger links between Karachi and Peshawar.

“Modernising ML-1 is of key importance for the development of Pakistan Railways, improving passenger services and increasing freight transport,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.

Railway land to pay for the line

A central idea of the meeting was to use the railways’ own land to fund the project. The prime minister directed that ML-1 be developed on a commercial basis by using identified railway land worth billions of rupees.

“The real commercial potential of railway properties needs to be harnessed,” he said, calling for valuable railway land to be put to commercial use so that it contributes both to the national economy and to the railways.

He approved raising bank financing through commercial projects on railway land, with the money to be used for ML-1. Authorities were told to present a comprehensive plan within two weeks, based on the actual commercial potential of the land.

The prime minister also praised teams from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Ministry of Railways, led by the NAB chairman, for identifying and recovering encroached railway land.

Making the railways pay its way

Shehbaz said corporate-style reforms to strengthen Pakistan Railways and make it economically self-sufficient were among the government’s priorities. He added that the railways minister was working to make the organisation profitable and to improve its operations.

The project in numbers

Officials briefed the meeting on the stages of the project, progress on its first section and the railways’ landholdings. The key details:

• Length: 1,726 kilometres, split into four sections: Karachi-Rohri, Rohri-Multan, Multan-Lahore and Lahore-Peshawar.
• Financing: international financing is being used for Karachi-Rohri, while plans are being drawn up to fund the remaining three sections from domestic resources.
• First phase: civil work on the 480km Karachi-Rohri/Sukkur section is likely to begin in January 2027, Dawn reported. New up and down tracks will be laid, with fencing on both sides to keep people, animals and vehicles off the line.
• Timeline: the first phase is expected to take two and a half to three years.
• Traffic: the corridor carries 76 per cent of passenger traffic and 98pc of freight traffic, and connects major population centres and industrial zones.

ADB support

Last week, after extensive consultations with the government, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it was finalising a $1.1 billion investment programme for the Karachi-Rohri section. The multi-tranche facility is aimed at improving the efficiency, safety and sustainability of rail transport along that stretch of ML-1 by 2040.

Why it matters

The ML-1 corridor carries 98pc of the railways’ freight traffic and most of its passengers, so its condition shapes the whole network. Funding most of the line from domestic resources depends on how much money railway land can actually raise, which is why the prime minister has asked for a realistic plan within two weeks.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and the Prime Minister’s Office.