Pakistan Railways to launch steam engine Safari Trains for tourists
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Railways is planning to launch Safari trains to promote tourism for three selected areas as per vision of the prime minister to attract local and foreign tourists. “The tourist trains with steam engines will be operated between Rawalpindi - Taxila, Peshawar - Attock Bridge and Karachi - Keenjhar Lake,” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP. He said the launch of these trains would not only help Pakistan Railways to earn extra revenue, but also to facilitate the visitors from the country and abroad. To a question, he said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department and Pakistan Railways have agreed on the early revival of the historic Khyber Steam Safari train service to boost tourism in the province. The British-era train, a major tourist attraction in the region, was closed down in 2008 due to militancy and the flashfloods, which washed away railway tracks. He said that Tourism Department was in contact with Pakistan Railways and law enforcement agencies for restoration of the historic train service at the earliest. Regarding the availability of locomotives, the official said Minister for Railways Shaikh Rashid Ahmed had directed the concerned department to operationalise four steam locomotive engines on no-loss-no-profit basis for Safari trains.
