Musharraf for fast PR uplift, trains with 300km/hour speed

ISLAMABAD (updated on: March 03, 2007, 17:50 PST): President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday called for fast development of the Pakistan Railways on modern lines to provide economical travel to the people, swift movement of goods and to create linkages with neighbouring countries.

"We need to be ready for the future and plan for trains that can travel to 300 km an hour and divert road and air travellers to use this efficient mode of travel," he told a gathering here at the Golra Railway Station after inaugurating museum of Pakistan Railways.

The president stressed that the pace of improvement need to be further enhanced. "We have to catch up fast," he said and directed the Railway authority to prepare for the challenges ahead.

He said the current target of increasing speed of trains up to 140 km/hour was not enough. "Today the world is moving on to magnetic levitation trains and monorails for mass transport, we need to go for these," he added.

The president referring to his vision for the Pakistan Railways spoke of plans to link Chamman to Kandahar in Afghanistan and to build an ambitious rail track from Havelian to the Khunjerab Pass to connect with the Chinese mainline.

"Both the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have expressed desire to join this rail link as it will provide them an access to the Gwadar Port," he said.

The president said new rail tracks were also being developed between Gwadar and Quetta, Peshawar and Zhob and Bostan and Zhob, besides the dualisation of the Karachi-Peshawar mainline.

The president also called for moving on to the standard gage and said currently the meter and broad gage were being used that led to import of expensive Rolling Stock and Wagons that need to be converted.

President Musharraf also called for hastening the pace on provision of mass transport system for Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad and said it could be later emulated in other major cities.

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Good. only if we aim higher will we get any where at all.

Wounderful, i am glad that Mr Musharraf atleast have the tought to reform rail sustem in the country and that Central-Asian countries has shown desire to join the network. In the larger level this means we could soon have rail connection from Europe to Pakistan.

Germany -> Poland -> Russia -> Kazakhastan ->Uzbekistan ->Tadjikistan -> Afghanistan so Pakistan

It already exist rail network to Tadjikistan, maybe it must be upgraded, but its already up to russian level, wich should be ok, not so good but good enough to use.

As Pakistan has upgraded motorways i belive by starting these railway project Pakistan can modernize it's rail system to.

Yes, this will be a wonderful thing.


IMAGINE A BULLET TRAIN GOING AT 300 KM/HR FROM KARACHI TO KAZAKHSTAN TO TURKMENISTAN. to TURKEY

this will REVOLUTIONIZE and tremendously increase the trade volume between PAKISTAN and CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS (CARs). with CENTRAL ASIAN OIL going to KARACHI and GWADAR ports in containers on BULLET TRAINS.

PAK- CENTRAL ASIAN ALLIANCE is the need of the hour to deter american expansionist designs.