Thirteen of the 20 locomotives bought from China were handed over to the railways authorities at the Cantt railway station on Saturday, Geo News reported.
The locomotives that had arrived at the city port a day earlier now stand under the diesel stand at the railway station.
The remaining engines would be given to the authorities after the fulfillment of legal requirements, including clearance from the customs department, said the Geo News report.
News Desk adds: The third consignment of 24 railway engines is scheduled to reach Karachi by the end of this year.
In all, 58 locomotives are being imported from China, as 14 engines arrived in the city some two months ago.
Five of the engines have 3,000 horsepower capacity and they were manufactured by Ziyang Locomotives Company of China, while 15 new engines are of 2,000 horsepower. Besides, six locomotives have already been imported from Korea.
Chairman Pakistan Railway Workers Union Manzoor Razi welcomed the arrival of new locomotives. He said that with the arrival of new locomotives, the government must revive the passenger rail service between Karachi-Mirpurkhas and Karachi-Badin routes.
He also asked the government to immediately revive the suspended Shah Latif and Mehran train services.
“These two trains were shut down four years back, depriving the people of Sindh from cheap mode of transport, which is tantamount to committing injustice,” he added.
The locomotives would be kept in purpose-built sheds and special staff has been deployed for their care and maintenance.
The Chinese company would provide two-year maintenance and assistance for these locomotives.
Before adding these locomotives to the Pakistan Railways (PR) fleet, a two week-trial would be conducted to technically evaluate their performance.
By the year-end a total of 58 Chinese locomotives are scheduled to reach Karachi, whose down payment has already been made to the Chinese company.
Razi said that the addition of new locomotives would help further improve the schedule of passenger trains as well as improving freight service.
Freight service is a major source of income for railways worldwide and the PR used to earn at least Rs 6 billion annually from the operation of freight trains from Karachi to various upcountry destinations. Razi also demanded for running more freight trains.
13 Chinese engines handed over to railways - thenews.com.pk