He said the inauguration of Karachi Express will be held on March 15. The train will depart everyday from Karachi to Lahore and Lahore to Karachi on 5 pm and will reach its destination on 11 am.
While talking to APP, the DCO Nasir Nazeer said the train will be launched with further new facilities. The train will have the capacity of 800 passengers. Karachi Express will have the 4 a.c. business coaches, 8 economy class coaches and one a.c. sleeper coach.
Nasir further stated that the train will have the modern facilities such as LED, wifi, curtains, mineral water and a separate staff for maintenance in each coach.
When asked about the change in fares of the said train, he said that besides equipping the Karachi Express with modern facilities, no change in fares have been made.
To facilitate passengers, the train besides Karachi and Lahore, will also stop in Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Rohri, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, and Sahiwal and there will be separate quota for these stations, he added.
The DCO-Karachi further informed that for the transportation of goods from Karachi to the other parts of country, the service of carriage train is now being preferred as compared to the private sector transportation system. Around 350 carriage trains are operate monthly basis to transport goods. He said the cheap fares of carriage trains have become the best source for transportation of goods across the country.
Nasir Nazeer said to attract the passengers to travel through train, the Pakistan Railways is upgrading major stations. In first phase Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi stations will be upgraded. The waiting rooms, restaurants, dining rooms at the stations will be upgraded besides shopping malls near the stations will also be constructed.