The first test run of the 46 fully furnished high-speed train coaches, or complete units, that were imported from China last week took place on Thursday between the Cantonment and Rohri stations in Karachi.
The coaches, which were intended to travel at a speed of 160 km/h on local tracks, were pulled at a much slower speed of 120 km/h and even lower during the trial run to test their movement, brakes, etc.
The coaches are designed to increase travel security and comfort while assisting Pakistan Railways in providing better services. According to reports, the coaches will only run on the Green Line between Islamabad’s Margalla Station and Karachi in December after the trial.
The Chinese coaches are painted in PR’s traditional green colour from the outside. The interior of the various coaches has air-conditioning and heating systems. Some coaches are meant for the economy class and some others for parlour with nice comfortable seats.
Besides luggage cars, there is extra space within the coaches in the shape of racks for hand-carry luggage. Provision of dining car and more kitchens and kitchenettes is available in the coaches, too.
If the AC coaches had purple and blue seats and bunks, the parlour coaches have burgundy and pink seats with plenty of legroom, folding tables. There are LED screens fixed on the back of each headrest to help passengers beat boredom during their journey. From inside, the coaches look more like the business class of a luxurious passenger aircraft.
Speaking to Dawn, the train driver, Safeer Ahmed, said: “Actually, it is also a test of our rail tracks. If the tracks can take it, we should be moving at 160kms per hour”.
His assistant, Raza Ahmed, hoped that the new coaches would also open the way for more improvement in the PR infrastructure. “Hopefully, we will also have new tracks soon to enable PR to run bullet trains as well,” he said.
As per the contract with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRRC) Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company, there are going to be 230 high-speed coaches to be supplied to Pakistan. Out of them, these are only the first 46. The remaining 184 coaches will be manufactured Pakistan Railways engineers and technical staff under the supervision of Chinese experts.
