Pakistan Railways to acquire 12 high-speed passenger coaches

Pakistan Railways is set to undergo major upgrades to its existing fleet, as the organisation plans to acquire 12 high-speed passenger coaches by June 2025. As per credible reports, the Islamabad Carriage Factory produces these coaches, which can travel at speeds up to 200 km/h.

The production of such sophisticated technology in Pakistan is being lauded by many, and authorities are attempting to ensure that production efforts continue to be undisturbed. Reports claim that the Minister for Railways, Hanif Abbasi, recently visited the carriage factory to oversee the progress that had been made.

Hanif Abbasi met with Muhammad Yousuf Leghari, a high-ranking official at the carriage factory, who provided him with a progress report. According to reports, this is the first time high-speed coaches are being manufactured domestically.

While this spells great news for the manufacturing sector, as Pakistan is moving towards self-reliance, many have pointed out the lack of high-speed trains in the country to which these coaches can be attached.

In fact, reports suggest that Pakistan’s rail network does not even have high-speed lines and tracks for the most part. As such, some have questioned where these coaches will be deployed by Pakistan Railways.

The manufacturing process falls under the umbrella of an agreement between Pakistan Railways and CRRC Tangshan of China. Details from the agreement, which was inked in 2021, suggest that both parties were supposed to manufacture 230 passenger coaches for Pakistan.

Many believe that the most important clause in the agreement was related to a shift in the production process of coaches from China to Pakistan. This $148 million project is reportedly being carried out under the supervision of a team of Chinese service engineers and is slated to pump out another 184 high-speed coaches by 2027.

The strengthening of domestic manufacturing could allow for Pakistan’s trade gap to narrow significantly. This is because Pakistan will not have to rely on costly imported coaches to enhance its railway network.

Moreover, domestically produced trains could soon find themselves on the trading block with international bidders as output grows past local coach demand. As per reports, the Islamabad carriage factory alone can produce up to 120 passenger coaches per year.

This move comes as Pakistan Railways managed to pull in a record 88 billion rupees in revenue in 2024. As per reports, the implementation of widespread upgrades allowed the entity’s revenues to post a 40 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth rate.