ML-1 under CPEC, a game changer project for Pakistan
by Fatima Javed
ISLAMABAD, June 12 (Gwadar Pro) - Pakistan’s long awaited game changer project is going to become a reality, since the Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line (also referred to as Main Line 1 or ML-1) project was recently approved by Pakistan and China. The dream to have High-speed rail (HSR) in Pakistan is turning into reality. The project will change the fate of Pakistan railways, bringing benefits to the common Pakistanis who were affected by the recent downfall of Pakistan railways .
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa tweeted about the approval of this project mentioning that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved the ML-1 project worth of $7.2 billion and recommended it to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC). In his tweet, Asim Bajwa, who is also the Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPECA), said the project scope included the dualization and upgradation of the 1,872km-long Railway track from Peshawar to Karachi.
Bajwa has described this project as a big milestone for the second phase of CPEC. The project is intended to rehabilitate and improve the existing ML-1 railway connecting Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. Upgrades will double the existing rail track from Karachi to Peshawar as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The contractor of ML-1 project will be China Railway Engineering Corporation (CRECG), a state-owned company of China, which is under the supervision of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has been continuously convincing both Pakistan and China to start the project as soon as possible and mentioned on every platform the importance of this project for Pakistan. He said the upgradation of the railway track under ML-1 project would change the destiny of the country.
He said that its major portion, which would be completed within 5 years with 90 percent of the financing provided by the Chinese government, would cover 70 percent of Pakistan’s population. The work would be started on two to three portions of the project with target of one portion in one year, he added.
The package-1 of the ML-1 Project is expected to be completed between January 2021 and December 2024 and will cover the construction of 527 km-long track between Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore.
The package-2 will upgrade the 521 km-long track from Lahore to Hyderabad and is estimated to be completed by January 2022 to December 2026 while the final package-3 that will cover a distance of about 740 kilometers of railway track which connects Rawalpindi-Peshawar and Hyderabad-Multan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday also highlighted the importance of the ML-1 project for Pakistan, saying that it was an important project of CPEC and gave orders to complete the restructuring of Pakistan Railways keeping the ML-1 project in view so as to create maximum opportunities for private sector partnership. Qamer Javed Bajwa the former Chief of Army Staff also played a key role and mentioned the importance of the project during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In China the high-speed rail (HSR) has been working successfully. While other countries have struggled to make HSR a reality, state-owned China Railway Corp (CRC) has busied itself in laying down over 25,000km of high-speed track over the last decade – accounting for roughly two-thirds of the world’s total length of HSR lines. No other nation comes close to rivalling China’s HSR construction story.
According to a report published by The World Bank last year, other countries would do well to follow Beijing’s example. “China has built the largest high-speed rail network in the world.” HSR in China consists of a network of passenger-dedicated railways designed for speeds of 250–350 km/h (155–217 mph). It is the world's longest high speed railway network, and is also the most extensively used. In 2019, China started testing a magnetic levitation ("maglev") prototype train that runs at 600 km/h.
ML-1 is one of four main railway lines in Pakistan, operated and maintained by Pakistan Railways. The line begins from Karachi City station or Kiamari station and ends at Peshawar Cantonment Station. The total length of this railway line is 1,687 kilometers.
There are 184 railway stations from Kiamari to Peshawar Cantonment on this line. The line serves as the main passenger and freight line of the country. 75% of the country's cargo and passenger traffic uses the line. The line is currently undergoing a six-year ₨886.68 billion (US$6.3 billion) upgrade and renovation as part of CPEC, with average rail speeds expected to be doubled to 160 kilometers per hour upon completion.
The plan includes new locomotives, development and improvement of current rail infrastructure, an increase in average train speed, an improved on-time performance and expansion of passenger service.
The game changer ML-1 project on completion will double the entire track from Karachi to Peshawar. The speed of passenger trains would be increased from 65/110km/h to 160 km/h. Freight trains will be operated at 120 km/h. Computer based signaling and control system would be established while grade separation to ensure safety of train operations. Hence the whole railway system will be upgraded to get the bullet train run over.
ML-1 project will be a paradigm shift for railways and for the country’s overall economy.
