- The route was closed after militants blew up ten bridges in 2006
ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Tuesday that concrete steps would be taken to open Sibi-Harnai railway route in the next three months.
Responding to a calling attention notice of Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar in the Senate, he said the Sibi-Harnai railway route was closed after militants blew up ten bridges in 2006.
He said that he had requested the Balochistan chief minister to provide complete security to the railway route, as it would be impossible to open it otherwise. He added that only one-month renovation work was left on the 137-kilometer route.
The minister informed the Senate that his ministry had reduced the fare of trains, however, the “trains in Balochistan were running in losses while trains in other parts of the country had an occupancy rate of 100pc”.
The minister said the number of freight trains would be increased from 10 to 20, adding that two freight trains were given to the private sector so as to facilitate the business community.
Senator Usman said the Sibi-Harnai route had started in 1882, adding that Harnai was a part of Sibi Division and at present, it was not connected with either road or railway. “People have to travel an additional distance of more than 300 kilometers to reach Quetta.”
He said Harnai had the biggest coal deposits of 100 million tonnes. “In the past, two trains plied from Harnai to Sibi, carrying coal in 1,000 wagons a year. Harnai was also supplying sugarcane and vegetables to other parts of the country. Now the trucks were charging Rs80,000 to Rs100,000 for carrying goods, increasing the business cost,” he lamented.
In the Balochistan Assembly, he said, a resolution was passed to repair the railway station and a tender in this regard was approved in 2016, but the opening of the route was delayed.
