LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique on Monday inspected new passenger coaches, manufactured in China, at Lahore Cantt railway station.

`The coaches, which will be manufactured in Pakistan under the technical assistance of a Chinese company in the near future, should have some changes to ensure more comfort for passengers,` he said, adding the plan to buy coaches from China had matured in 2017 under which the PR should have this rolling stock in the first quarter of 2019.

`A delay of three years in doing so inflicted a considerable loss to the railway,` he said.

The minister requested the passengers to use the new coaches carefully considering it a national asset.

It merits mentioning that the PR received a consignment of 46 high-speed modern coaches from China on Nov 26. After receipt of 46 completely built units manufactured in China, the PR is now heading towards launching the manufacturing of 184 similar coaches (passenger, luggage and brake vans) at its carriage factory in Islamabad in association with Chinese engineers under the technology-transfer component of the 230 coaches` purchase contract. Similarly, the PR would soon receive various consignments of 200 modern goods/freight wagons from China, and after receipt of these wagons, it would start manufacturing 620 wagons of similar designs at its Mughalpura workshop and the carriage factory in Risalpur under the technology-transfer segment of the contract. It was one year ago, in November 2021, when looking to upgrade and enhance longdistance passenger services in the country, the federal government had inked an agreement with China Railway Construction Corporation Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company for the supply of 230 high-speed coaches for PR.

`The test run of the 46 coaches is underway these days and it will continue for some more days ahead,` said an official source in the PR while talking to Dawn.

Staff Reporter