Railways in light of the needs of the army.

[Jango]

Discuss how the Pakistan Railways in it's current situation can come in handy for the PA. Advantages and Disadvantages. My personal view is that they could be an easy target for the enemy bombers of close to the border and without adequate aircover. But most of our armoured divisions and units dont need long transportation.

 

[Sinnerman108]

Railways was never supposed to be the transporter,
at least as far as our conventional war doctrine is concerned.

The proximity of the enemy, and the relatively small size of front makes railway useless.
However Railway was supposed to form the logistic supply backbone.

After working with the ministry, and seeing the state they are in, I can suggest that it is better to trust a mule with 40Kg of logistic then railways.

 

[Jango]

what you said is true, our country size is small , but the transportation of supplies needs to be constant, and while our trucks will be in the front line, a few will be available, so the railwqays does the job. Does the PA have any specific plans?

 

[razgriz19]

i remember when i was a kid, we used to go to malir station in the morning to pick up relatives coming from lahore. and everytime i went there i would see a couple of frieght trains ladened with military trucks, tanks, and other armoured vehicles!
sp PA does use railways as their supply lines, and its probably the cheapest one too

 

[Jango]

i remember when i was a kid, we used to go to malir station in the morning to pick up relatives coming from lahore. and everytime i went there i would see a couple of frieght trains ladened with military trucks, tanks, and other armoured vehicles!
sp PA does use railways as their supply lines, and its probably the cheapest one too

yes, whenwe were at multan and went to khanewal, there were tanks on trains. Will post a few pics as well

 

[Sinnerman108]

what you said is true, our country size is small , but the transportation of supplies needs to be constant, and while our trucks will be in the front line, a few will be available, so the railwqays does the job. Does the PA have any specific plans?

Railway tracks present a static and very easy target.

Need we say more ?

 

[Pioneerfirst]

Railway is a neglected sector in Pakistan,we use it for only 4 % of our total freight.
All our contonments are located near border so in war senerio it is less of use but in peace time it is,I have seen tanks from lower pinjab and sindh coming to taxila for maintenance through railways.

 

[SQ8]

Railway tracks present a static and very easy target.

Need we say more ?

Railways do however, offer a greater carriage capacity compared to a road..
However.. as rightly pointed out.. blow up a track. and the train is going nowhere.
Perhaps that proposal to use the Indus river to transport stuff is a good alternative??

 

[Martian]

Railway tracks present a static and very easy target.

Need we say more ?

Roads are also static.

why to depend on only one mode of transportation over land? Multiple modes of transportation offer flexibility.

What about peace time logistics for military?

 

[Jango]

the river can also be a good option.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3794/akpm01fz3.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3098/121c140472c6aebd81ed839.jpg


Is this done during war time?

 

[Contrarian]

Railways do however, offer a greater carriage capacity compared to a road..
However.. as rightly pointed out.. blow up a track. and the train is going nowhere.
Perhaps that proposal to use the Indus river to transport stuff is a good alternative??

Railways - Easy to destroy, fast to get fixed.

 

[Masterchief]

Railways are easy targets, infact invading forces keep blowing of tracks their top priority plant an IED in a rail tunnel, blow some tracks and you're good.

 

[Jango]

Railways are easy targets, infact invading forces keep blowing of tracks their top priority plant an IED in a rail tunnel, blow some tracks and you're good.

railways during wartime are wasy targets, but before the war, they can be used for mass movement of tanks, rations and other supplies, to a forward area but not close to the frontline. But for a country like pakistan, where our armoured divs are placed close to the border i.ee kharian, bahawalpur, multan etc, places from where movement of tanks isnt a really difficult task

 

[Najam Khan]

For large scale transportation in peace time, railway is a very good option. Britishers made railway line go through army barracks, the purpose was to provide logistics support at their doorstep. Most of them are abolished today..a railway line even passes through Peshawer air base's runway too.

During war, military logistics trains and stations are a sitting duck targets for enemy, their usage in war depends on the situation of war. As a second option they can be used, but the priority will always be given to a 'safe passage'. If trucks get camouflaged in the terrain they will be a better option than a train which is very easy to track from miles.

The advancement in technology has changed everything, now a pilot can see his target from miles. Targetting pods provide more situational awareness and exact verification of targets.

DB-110 electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) reconnaissance pod is one example.
Images captured by DB110.

 

[muse]

An underground rail tunnel system, linking major facilities and urban centers - I think we should think of logistics and actually anything to do with armed forces, in the most bleak, or negative of lights -- Pakistan should be preparing for an adversary other than India, in which case, that adversary has historically sought air dominance, as a key feature of it's way of war - it's hard to imagine, any exposed venue that will not be open to attack - Pakistan should look at it's defense options in a novel manner, given how the evolving adversary and her coalitions have chosen to execute war.