Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique ordered complete freight operations on ML-1 within five days.
The minister reviewed the maintenance of ML-1, 2, and 3 tracks on Monday.
He told authorities to eliminate engineering constraints on the Lahore-Karachi major railway line and assured them the track would be repaired after the floodwater receded.
Officials were also told to repair Quetta-Taftan before the end of the month. The minister also increased the number of Quetta-Zahedan freight trains from 5 to 15.
Due to unexpected monsoon rain and flooding, the Quetta-Taftan railway was suspended.
“As soon as customs clearance is done, coal should be lifted from Karachi,” the minister remarked during the meeting.
He ordered a permanent transportation officer in Zahedan and effective delivery of Turkish aid.
Rehabilitation and repair work is underway in conjunction with Balochistan’s district administration to restore rail service in flood-affected areas, a railway ministry official told APP.
He said the minister ordered the department to use all available resources to repair railway tracks in Sindh, Balochistan, and other affected areas as soon as feasible.
The department had deployed technical bridge workers at various parts to fix the damaged bridges because rail service would only be resumed after the repairs were complete, he noted.
He said the minister visited flood-affected districts in Sindh and Balochistan, where the railways department told him 104 train lines were damaged.
“Pakistan Railways incurred severe financial losses in Balochistan owing to flood as 11 km of track from Dera Allah Yar to Jacobabad was submerged,” he said.
He added the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and civil administration helped Pakistan Railways restore tracks in Balochistan and other regions.
The official said Pakistan Railways was also told to speed up the survey of affected installations and the repair procedure.
Technical and non-technical employees are working in three shifts to rebuilding the tracks as the floodwater recedes.
Seven to eight bridges were damaged in the remaining divisions, suspending rail operations in flood-affected areas.
Pakistan Railways closed Lahore-Karachi train bookings last week owing to flooding on the route. All commercial officers were notified.
Currently, 28 up and down trains are closed.
Damaged tracks, signal systems, and bridges have halted train operations.
Train closures have cost the department almost Rs15 billion.
