LAHORE: The civil work on the first phase of Pakistan’s Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway upgrade project is likely to begin in January 2027, as Pakistan Railways has accelerated preparations, market consultations and pre-bid activities to meet the timeline set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In this regard, Pakistan Railways has announced an online early market engagement session for September 8, inviting local and international civil works contractors, project design experts and monitoring consultants.
The session will focus on project readiness, procurement progress, developments since March and the strategy for moving the project into implementation.
Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi said the government was making every effort to ensure that work begins by January next year.
He noted that international tendering, bidding, shortlisting of contractors and consultants and contract awards could take around four to five months.
The first phase of ML-1 covers the approximately 480-kilometre Karachi-Rohri/Sukkur section.
The project includes construction of new up and down tracks and fencing along both sides of the railway corridor to prevent unauthorised access by people, animals and vehicles.
The project is expected to take between two-and-a-half and three years to complete. The Karachi-Rohri section is considered strategically important as the corridor carries around 76 per cent of passenger traffic and 98 per cent of freight traffic, while connecting major population centres and industrial areas.
The project is expected to be financed primarily by the Asian Development Bank, with co-financing options also being explored with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and other partners.
The indicative scope includes track reconstruction, limited realignments, bridges, culverts, stations, freight yards and other railway structures. It also includes upgrades to Walton Academy, signalling and telecommunications systems, as well as project management and supervision consultancy services.
Pakistan Railways officials said the Karachi-Rohri section was prioritised because of the deteriorating condition of the existing track and the frequency of derailments and accidents.
The upgraded infrastructure is expected to allow trains to operate at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour.
Meanwhile, a meeting on ML-1 preparations was held at Pakistan Railways headquarters under Railway Board Chairman Syed Mazhar Ali Shah. The meeting reviewed the Karachi-Rohri upgrade, project preparations and the future course of action.
The chairman directed that the review phase be completed by October 30, 2026, with weekly monitoring of progress. The second phase of market consultations will begin on September 8.
Pakistan Railways said international expertise and market recommendations would be incorporated to make ML-1 more modern, effective and viable, while maintaining merit, transparency and competitiveness throughout the process.
