Pakistan railways revives Khushal Khan Khattak Express service after five-year

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways has restored the Khushal Khan Khattak Express after a suspension of more than five years. The train service between Peshawar and Karachi will resume on April 25, 2025, providing significant travel convenience to passengers commuting between the two cities.

The train will depart from Karachi City Railway Station at 8:00 PM, heading to Peshawar Cantt, and will begin its return journey from Peshawar at 4:00 PM.

This express train is the only one that directly connects important cities like Larkana, Dadu, Kot Addu, Layyah, Mianwali, Bhakkar, and Dera Ghazi Khan to Karachi and Peshawar. It offers a full economy class with comfortable seats for passengers on long journeys.

The total distance of the train is 1,512 km, with a journey duration of approximately 34 hours and 15 minutes. Pakistan Railways suspended the Khushal Khan Khattak Express in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and floods.

After a long gap of five years, Pakistan Railways is restoring the Khushal Khan Khattak Express to its full glory.

Meanwhile, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Former Senior Vice President and Member of the Executive Committee of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), thanked Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi for restarting the Khushal Khan Khattak Express services.

Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Senior Vice President of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), said that some black sheep within Pakistan Railways and a certain lobby conspired to disrupt cargo and passenger trains from Peshawar and succeeded in their efforts.

He urged the Federal Minister for Railways to take strict action against the black sheep in the department and immediately implement measures to operate special trains, passenger trains, export cargo trains, goods trains, and GITA (goods in transit to Afghanistan) from Peshawar.