ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to accelerate the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway upgrade and prepare a financing plan that makes commercial use of Pakistan Railways land, as the government seeks to advance a major overhaul of the country’s principal rail corridor.
The directive was issued during a review meeting on Wednesday, according to the Prime Minister’s Office account reported by Dawn. The prime minister asked officials to submit a comprehensive plan within two weeks based on the commercial potential of identified railway property.
The proposed approach would use financing linked to commercial projects on railway land to support railway development. The government has not announced that all financing for ML-1 is secured, and a direction to prepare a plan does not mean the associated bank funding has been obtained.
ML-1 is a planned upgrade of the railway network running from Karachi to Peshawar. Officials told the meeting that the approximately 1,726-kilometre programme had been divided into four principal sections: Karachi–Rohri, Rohri–Multan, Multan–Lahore and Lahore–Peshawar.
The Karachi–Rohri section is being pursued with international financing, while plans are being developed to draw on domestic resources for other sections. This division underscores the financing challenge facing a project intended to improve both passenger services and freight movement.
The prime minister also called for corporate-style reforms to strengthen Pakistan Railways’ financial position and improve operations. He praised efforts by the Ministry of Railways and National Accountability Bureau teams to identify and recover railway land from encroachment, according to the account of the meeting.
Recovering land and identifying its potential commercial value are preliminary steps. The amount that can be raised, the financing terms and the treatment of existing railway operations would need to be established through the detailed plan.
The first phase, covering roughly 480 kilometres between Karachi and Rohri/Sukkur, is expected to begin civil work in January 2027, according to the reported project timetable. The proposed work includes new tracks and fencing to reduce unauthorised access to the railway corridor.
The latest instruction places attention on implementation and financing rather than announcing a new completion date. The two-week submission deadline is the immediate milestone against which the government’s directive can be assessed.