Pakistan Railways Fails to Overcome Coach Shortage, Passengers Face Severe Hardships

Lahore: Pakistan Railways has failed to effectively upgrade its infrastructure or address the acute shortage of passenger coaches, with critics pointing out that authorities appear more focused on station beautification than improving core operational capacity. As a result, delays of several hours in the departure of passenger trains have become routine.
According to Pakistan Railways sources, approximately 106 passenger trains are currently operating nationwide on routes including Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Karachi, and Peshawar. These trains require around 1,560 coaches, while only about 1,100 coaches are available, leaving a shortfall of more than 400 coaches.
Sources told a private television channel that to compensate for the shortage, Pakistan Railways is violating its own rules by operating coaches whose mandatory physical, mechanical, and electrical overhaul periods have already expired.
It was revealed that these unfit coaches are being adjusted into passenger trains to keep operations running, posing a serious risk to passenger safety.
According to sources, more than 100 coaches requiring immediate overhauling are currently in use. Railway experts warn that one of the major causes of sudden train derailments is the use of substandard and unfit coaches, as the risk of accidents increases significantly when rolling stock is not in a safe condition.
Sources further disclosed that billions of rupees were allocated to the carriage workshops to increase the number of coaches in a timely manner. However, the Pakistan Railways carriage factory has failed to deliver new coaches within the stipulated timeframe. Consequently, train services on routes including Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad are experiencing delays of several hours.
The situation has reportedly become so critical that in some cases, coaches from an arriving train are immediately detached and attached to another departing train. Shortages are sometimes managed by redistributing coaches from a third train. In instances where a train is delayed or involved in an accident, passengers are transferred to other trains with reduced coach capacity.
Alongside the deteriorating condition of railway tracks, the shortage of coaches has emerged as a major factor behind delays in train arrivals and departures.
However, rejecting these claims, a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways stated that the department currently has 1,105 passenger coaches and that there is no shortage. The spokesperson added that 52 power plants are required while 54 are available, and that an additional 50 coaches will be inducted into the system by the end of the current month, which will help upgrade train services.
According to the spokesperson, the perception of a coach shortage is inaccurate, and Pakistan Railways has sufficient rolling stock to meet operational requirements.