ECO container Gul Train left Lahore Dry Port for Turkey Thursday night with 12 loaded containers, Pakistan Railways spokesman said, here on Friday. The train will reach its destination in 11 days. Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani had inaugurated goods train service between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.
The spokesman said that initially the train will run twice a month which would be extended to four times. It may be added that the Gul Express is an ongoing project of Pakistan, Iran and Turkey for which a high-level working group comprising experts from the three countries holds meetings periodically to evolve a sustainable timetable.
PR is terming the project a bright prospect to promote regional and international trade owing to the co-operation of business community of the three countries. However some circles have expressed scepticism over the continuity of service due to security hurdles, low volume of trade among ECO countries.
They said that since the start of ECO Container Train, five trains have reached Pakistan with half of the containers empty, causing big loss to the national exchequer. Moreover, all these trains covered the distance from Islamabad to Istanbul via Tehran in 24 days, which otherwise was fixed for 11 days.
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