‘Karachi-Lahore bullet train project not on the anvil,’ says ministry denying media report

The Ministry of Railways has denied any plan to build a project of bullet train between Karachi and Lahore, declaring the reports claiming this as completely baseless and misleading.

In a clarification, the Ministry of Railways said the media reports in this regard attributing to Railways Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi were not true.

“Hanif Abbasi has made no such announcement about launching a bullet train,” Pakistan Railway Spokesperson Babar Ali said, adding the government’s top priority is the improvement of existing railway facilities.

The spokesperson asked the masses not to believe in unverified news. Only official statements issued by the Ministry of Railways should be considered final, he added.

Pakistan announces Karachi-Lahore bullet train project

State-run media had reported on August 24 that Pakistan Railways has announced to build a bullet train project between Lahore and Karachi, cutting travel time from 20 hours to just five by 2030.

As per Radio Pakistan, Abbasi had said the 1215-kilometer long high-speed rail line was part of the 6.8 billion dollars ML-1 upgrade under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

“The train will run at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour with major stops in Hyderabad, Multan, and Sahiwal,” it had added.

Earlier this year, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif had approved Lahore-Rawalpindi Bullet Train Project.

The proposed rail link is expected to reduce travel time between the two major cities to just 2.5 hours.