ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan’s northwestern Peshawar City will be connected with Jalalabad – the Capital City of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar Province- via a 145-kilometer railway track.
Talking to the state-run news agency on Monday, sources in the Ministry of Pakistan Railways told that the ministry has planned to connect Peshawar with Jalalabad through a rail link in order to facilitate the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sources said that a feasibility study titled ‘Provision of rail link from Peshawar to Jalalabad through Loi Shalman Valley (145 km)’ was under process in this regard.
“Pakistan Railways was making all out efforts to execute the project which is likely to be completed by December this year,” sources said.
They said that it would be finalized only after completion of the project that whether the inclusion of existing track from Peshawar to Torkham is included in the proposed scheme or not.
“In this regard, it is further pointed out that the matter was raised in 5th JCC (Joint Cooperation Committee) meeting to include this connectivity project in CPEC which was not agreed. As a follow up action the same will again be raised in 7th JCC meeting,” they said.
To a question, sources said that Nowshera to Dargai is still an operational section as freight trains are allowed to run. They said that the only passenger train (P-477 up/P-478 down) which used to run on Nowshera-Dargai section, was suspended being un-remunerative.
“Pakistan Railway was studying the feasibility of restoration of passenger trains on Nowshera-Dargai section considering commercial viability of the same,” they said.
In addtion, they said that Pakistan Railways was also planning to conduct a feasibility study regarding extension of rail track from Noshera to Dargai and onwards to Gilgit via Kalam.
