Pakistan Railways is set to receive the first 40 of more than 200 modern, high-speed passenger coaches from China by the end of this year that will augment railway operations across the South Asian country, officials said on Sunday.
Pakistan and China’s CRRC Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company inked an agreement in November 2021 for the supply of 230 high-speed coaches to Pakistan Railways as part of a plan to upgrade and enhance long-distance passenger services in the country.
“Out of 230 passenger coaches, the first consignment of 40 coaches will arrive in Pakistan by December, which would have the capacity to run at the speed of 160 kilometers per hour,” Babar Ali Reza, a spokesman for Pakistan Railways, told Arab News.
Though the spokesman did not share the cost of incoming passenger coaches from China, it was estimated at the time of the contract signing that each economy-class coach would cost $694,000, standard air-conditioned coach $794,000, and an air-conditioned parlor would cost $859,000 upon arrival in Pakistan.
The spokesman said the current maximum speed limit of Pakistani trains was 120 kilometers per hour and the new Chinese coaches would be suitable for higher speed limit after the upgradation of railway tracks.
