The Karachi Circular Railway is set to resume operations from tomorrow (Thursday), November 19, after an interval of two decades. Earlier, the Pakistan Railways had announced that the Karachi Circular Railway’s operations would resume from November 16. The KCR has two locomotives and 11 coaches — each having the capacity to transport 100 passengers, 64 on seats and 36 standing — all the way from the Pipri station to the Orangi station. According to a Pakistan Railways’ statement, the distance between the Pipri and Orangi stations is nearly 60 kilometres.“Four trains in [two directions] will commute the passengers between Pipri and Orangi stations with a uniform gap of three hours,” the statement said. At 7am on November 19, the first train will depart from the Orangi station, followed by subsequent departures at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm. A uniform fare of Rs50 per travel has also been fixed. The Pakistan Railways Pipri Station is near the Pakistan Steel Mills. All the way from Pipri, Landhi, Malir, Drigh Road, Cantt Station till the City Station runs the Pakistan Railways Main Line (ML-1), which is 46 kilometres long. From the City Station towards the Orangi Station, the distance is around 14 kilometres. After the City Station, there are Keamari, Karachi Port Trust, Wazir Mansion, Lyari, Baldia, Gulbai, SITE, Shah Latif, and Orangi stations. According to a Pakistan Railways official, the ML-1 is already functional for the inter-city trains. The officer, speaking about the encroachments on the KCR’s tracks, said that all major encroachments had been removed, with the fixation of the track. The distance, he said, will be covered in not more than 45 minutes from Pipri to Orangi.
