RAWALPINDI - A special Eid train will leave Rawalpindi city for Multan on June 14 to facilitate the citizens travelling to their native towns to celebrate Eid ul Fitr with their family members while special Summer Special Vacation Trains will also be operated after Eid ul Fitr to facilitate the passengers.
Talking to APP, Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi Raza Ali Habib informed that Pakistan Railways have finalized all the arrangements to facilitate the passengers on Eid ul Fitr and five special Eid trains would be operated.
In order to ensure the safety of passengers and visitors, security arrangements had been enhanced at the Rawalpindi Railway Station ahead of Eid ul Fitr, he added.
The first special Eid train will depart Karachi City at 11 am on June 12 and after passing through Khanewal, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Lala Musa, Malikwal, Rawalpindi and Attock City will reach Peshawar Cantt on the next day at 10 pm.
Second special train will leave Quetta on June 12 at 11:30 am and crossing Jacobabad, Multan Cantt, Khanewal and Lahore will reach Rawalpindi next day at 8 pm. The third train will start its journey from Karachi Cantt on June 13 at 11 am and passing Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal and Faisalabad will arrive at Lahore at 10 am on the next day.
The fourth special train will depart Rawalpindi on June 14 at 7 am and via Attock City, Dao Khail, Kot Addu, Kundian, Mianwali and Muzaffargarh will reach Multan Cantt on the same night at 10:30 pm. Fifth special Eid train will depart from Multan Cantt on June 19 at 7 am via Kot Addu, Dao Khail and Attock city will reach its destination, Rawalpindi on the same night at 10:15 pm.
He further informed that Pakistan Railways will operate special “Summer Vacation Special Trains” between Karachi and Rawalpindi to facilitate the passengers particularly families.
Raza Habib said, the special trains would be operated after Eid-ul-Fitr on June 18, 22, 26 and 30 from Rawalpindi to Karachi at 2:30 pm while on return these trains would run from Karachi to Rawalpindi on June 20, 24 and 28 at 8:00 pm. These trains would stop at Hyderabad, Rohri, Khanpur, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Okara, Raiwind, Lahore, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Gujrat, Lalamusa and Jhelum, he informed.
The Summer Vacation Trains will consist of A/C business, A/C Standard and Economy classes of coaches.
To a question, he said, armed police personnel have been deployed at the railway station to keep security situation in check. He said, that the security of the railway station had been tightened with police in plain clothes assigned the task to check security and keep an eye on suspicious persons. The deployment of cops was ensured to frisk the passengers entering the station.
The entire parking area had been covered using 32 high-definition, closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) apart from installing floodlights. Moreover, three booths with imported computerized barriers had also been set up to ensure proper checking and to maintain records of all visitors including the driver, the number plate and the vehicle.
Ground surveillance cameras had also been installed to check vehicles, he added. A special control room had been set up where activities of the visitors were monitored round the clock, he added.
Foolproof security of the passengers at platforms were being ensured through 16 CCTV cameras while walk-through gates had also been installed at the entry points, he added.
To another query, he said that luggage, parcels and other items booked for transportation to other cities of the country were also being checked through scanners installed at the station.