Railway officials say decision is driven by a mismatch in passenger demand
Pakistan Railways has curtailed the number of coaches on 16 passenger trains across the country.
According to an official notification, the department has removed a total of 30 coaches from various trains, including long-distance services such as Khyber Mail, Tezgam, Hazara Express, Awam Express, Karachi Express, Millat Express, Zakaria Express, and Fareed Express.
Other trains affected by the reduction include Karakoram Express, Subak Raftar, Shah Hussain Express, Pakistan Express, Islamabad Express, Sukkur Express, and Bolan Mail, which operates between Quetta and Karachi.
The number of coaches on Bolan Mail, which currently runs twice a week, has been reduced from 12 to 9. The move comes despite an earlier commitment by Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi during his visit to Quetta on March 25, wherein he had announced that Bolan Mail would operate daily starting April 1 — a promise that remains unfulfilled.
Railway officials say the decision is driven by a mismatch in passenger demand, with certain trains experiencing occupancy levels as low as 55 percent. “Trains with lower ridership are being downsized to allow better utilization of available coaches,” said a senior railway official, adding that services with consistently high bookings would receive additional coaches to accommodate the demand.
“An internal review showed that many trains are running below capacity, and rationalising coach allocation is a temporary measure until our maintenance backlog is cleared,” the official noted. The department has assured that once the maintenance and repair of coaches is completed, they will be re-integrated into high-demand routes.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Railways recently launched a mobile application titled “Track My Train”, aimed at improving the passenger experience by offering real-time location updates and estimated arrival times for scheduled trains. The new platform replaces the older tracking system, which has now been formally discontinued.
