Freight train service has been launched to link Karachi port with rest of Pakistan, expanding contribution towards Pakistan’s trade.
On Monday, the inauguration ceremony took place at the Hutchison Ports Pakistan, also known as the South Asia Pakistan Terminal. According to Captain Syed Rashid Jamil, general manager and head of business unit at Hutchison Ports Pakistan, said that with the commencement of the freight train service, they were expanding their contribution towards Pakistan’s trade.
“We are extending our physical gates to somewhere in Multan, Sialkot and Lahore as the containers will be discharged from the ships and put on a train that will deliver them to the customers at their factory gates,” he said.
The freight train service also coincides with the commissioning of a 3.7km, high-tech train track laid at the Hutchison Ports Pakistan connecting the facility to the rest of the country in a seamless manner through Pakistan Railway’s extensive network spread throughout the country.
This new track laid within the terminal comprised three rail sidings of 700 metres each alongside a crippled wagon sliding.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Railways Mohammed Azam Khan Swati said it was a matter of immense pleasure for him to help uplift business opportunities for Pakistan. “This will triple the container transport for Pakistan. In six months, it will also make railways a profitable institution of Pakistan.”
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He further explained that Pakistan Railways would make several terminals for this freight service with the collaboration of the Karachi Port Trust. “With shared value and shared benefits, we will all go towards profitable business,” he added.
Furthermore, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, “Karachi needs to be an international standard business hub. Pakistan’s entire business, its industry, its trade all come from here. It only needs good governance to transform this city and this country.”
