FOR millions of Pakistanis, a train journey is an exercise in patience and uncertainty. Trains run late, schedules lose their meaning and passengers often cannot be sure when will they reach their destinations. Yet they continue to travel by rail because buses are expensive, air travel is unaffordable and few alternatives can match the train’s reach. For these citizens, Pakistan Railways is not simply an underperforming public enterprise but an essential service on which their livelihoods, education and family lives depend.
The derailment of the Rehman Baba Express near Multan on October 13, 2026, which reportedly killed five people and injured more than 30, has brought the railway’s condition into painful focus. The precise cause must be established through a credible investigation but the tragedy raises a question that extends beyond one accident. How did a railway system that once connected the country’s economy become synonymous with delays, deteriorating infrastructure and concerns about passenger safety? At independence in 1947, Pakistan inherited an extensive railway network linking cities, agricultural centres and commercial markets. In the decades that followed, trains carried passengers and freight across distances where roads were limited and private transport remained beyond the reach of most people. Railways were central to national integration, connecting communities and facilitating the movement of goods in a young country struggling to build its economy.
Pakistan Railways’ decline reflects decades of underinvestment and a transport policy that has favoured roads over rail. The National Logistics Cell, established in 1978 to address cargo congestion at Karachi port, subsequently became a major road-freight operator. Its expansion is part of a wider shift in which road transport has come to dominate the movement of goods. The World Bank’s 2025 annual report, published in 2026, says that more than 94% of Pakistan’s inland freight is carried by road, while rail’s share has fallen to less than 6%. The report identifies the need to improve railway freight operations, encourage private investment and make rail more competitive. The NLC alone cannot be blamed for the railway’s decline, but Pakistan must confront the consequences of a transport policy that has failed to maintain a strong, commercially viable alternative to road freight
The consequences of this decline extend beyond freight statistics and financial losses. For passengers, they are measured in hours wasted on delayed trains, missed connections and journeys whose arrival times cannot be trusted. Students miss classes, workers lose valuable time and families are left waiting without reliable information. Punctuality, one of the most basic obligations of a railway, has become a persistent source of frustration. As passengers and businesses turn to road transport wherever they can afford it, the railway loses traffic, revenue and public confidence, deepening the very decline it needs to reverse.
Pakistan Railways earned a record Rs115.15 billion in FY2025-26, a 24.19% increase over the previous year. Yet the railway remained in loss, exposing the gap between rising revenues and lasting institutional recovery. Higher earnings are encouraging, but they cannot compensate for decades of underinvestment, ageing tracks and obsolete signalling systems. Until revenue growth translates into safer infrastructure, reliable services and sustained maintenance, improved financial figures will offer little reassurance to passengers who depend on railway every day.
Turning higher revenues into a reliable railway requires more than routine repairs. Across Asia, sustained investment has transformed railways into safer, faster and more competitive transport systems. India has expanded electrification and modernised its network, China has built an extensive high-speed passenger network alongside a vast freight system, and Japan’s Shinkansen demonstrates the value of rigorous maintenance and disciplined safety management. Pakistan cannot replicate these models overnight, but it can adopt their central lesson: railway infrastructure must be treated as a long-term national asset, supported by consistent investment, professional management and an uncompromising commitment to safety.
For Pakistan, this commitment must begin with modernising its own railway network. The proposed Main Line-1 upgrade from Karachi to Peshawar, stretching approximately 1,726 kilometres, is central to that effort. Its planned improvements to tracks, signalling and operational capacity could strengthen safety, reliability and efficiency across the country’s main railway corridor. Yet years of announcements, financing discussions and revisions have delayed progress. The government must provide a clear implementation timetable, transparent financing arrangements and independent oversight. Equally important, the pursuit of ML-1 must not become an excuse to postpone urgent repairs to deteriorating tracks, vulnerable bridges and ageing signalling systems. Major modernisation may take years, but passenger safety cannot wait. Modernising tracks and signalling alone will not restore Pakistan Railways unless the country also rethinks its freight policy. Moving bulk commodities such as oil, grain and fertiliser from roads to rail, where operationally feasible, could lower transport costs, reduce pressure on highways and generate a more stable source of railway revenue. Achieving this shift requires competitive tariffs, reliable freight services and investment in the infrastructure needed to handle goods efficiently. A country that needs affordable, efficient transport cannot afford to leave its railway network underused while roads shoulder the overwhelming burden of moving goods.
Pakistan Railways needs more than emergency responses and promises of reform. It needs sustained investment in tracks, modern signalling, preventive maintenance and reliable operations to reduce the risk of derailments and ensure passenger safety. For decades, neglect and short-term decisions have weakened an institution that could connect markets, reduce transport costs and provide affordable mobility to millions. Reviving railways is not merely about preventing accidents. It is about rebuilding a public service essential to economic growth, national connectivity and the everyday lives of ordinary Pakistanis.
—The writer is PhD in Political Science, and visiting faculty at QAU Islamabad.
