PR to run cargo train from Peshawar soon

[Naveed Yaseen]

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Railways on Wednesday said a cargo train would shortly be operated from the Peshawar dry port which would meet a longstanding demand of the business community.

Additional General Manager Pakistan Railways (Operation), Junaid Qureshi, announced this during a meeting with a delegation of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here.

The SCCI delegation, led by its Vice-President Faiz Muhammad Faizy, informed railway officials of the difficulties being faced by the traders and businessmen in the province due to the absence of facilities at the Peshawar dry port.

They also raised the issue of shortage of wagons under the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), transit time, construction of a dry port equipped with all state-of-the-art facilities at Azakhel and running of cargo and non-passenger trains from Peshawar to Karachi.

The meeting was informed that lack of facilities at the dry port had forced the traders to rely on trucks and other expensive means of transportation to ship their goods to Karachi and onwards.

The SCCI delegation included Dry Port Standing Committee Chairman Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, while Muhammad Shah and Muhammad Tayyab of Pakistan Railways also attended the meeting.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=202071