Pakistan has begun converting 155 railway stations to solar power, aiming to cut electricity costs and reduce reliance on the national grid, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.
The move is part of a wider effort to overhaul Pakistan Railways, discussed during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi briefed the premier on recent steps to revive services and streamline operations.
Several train services, including the Bolan Mail, Dera Ghazi Khan Express and Khushhal Khan Khattak Express, have resumed after earlier suspensions.
The government is outsourcing concrete sleeper factories in Sukkur, Khanewal and Kohat under public-private partnerships. The same model is being applied to railway-run hospitals, schools and rest houses in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.
Lahore’s Royal Palm Golf and Country Club is being auctioned, with a proposal under review to build a five-star hotel on the site.
Pakistan Railways is also overhauling its IT systems. A number of subsidiaries have been shut down, including Pakistan Railways Advisory & Consultancy Services and the Freight Transport Company. Officials said land worth Rs10 billion has been recovered from illegal occupation.
With support from the Punjab government, several infrastructure projects are underway, including a proposed high-speed rail link between Lahore and Rawalpindi, station upgrades, and new suburban train services on eight branch lines.
In Balochistan, the Saryab–Kuchlak and Quetta–Chaman lines are being upgraded in coordination with the provincial government.
Sharif called for a strategic plan to expand rail links to Central Asia and ordered progress on connecting the port city of Gwadar to the national railway network.
