Pakistan has entered a contract with China to procure 820 high-capacity wagons, and its first consignment has been dispatched.
This consignment consists of 70 completely built units (CBUs) of high-capacity flat wagons. This order was dispatched on 25th December 2022 and is expected to be received today. According to Pakistan Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer Abdul Haseeb, the purpose of these flat wagons is to transport containers filled with various goods across the country. He further added that the Chinese company is also in charge of producing 200 CBUs, comprising 20 brake vans, 70 flat wagons, 70 open-top wagons, and 40 covered wagons.
According to this contract, Pakistan Railway is set to receive a total of 800 high-capacity wagons and 20 brake vans. Out of these 820 vehicles, 600 are to be manufactured in Pakistan in various carriage factories of Pakistan Railway in collaboration with Chinese engineers.
The process of procuring these wagons had begun last year when a letter of credit was issued in March 2022.
The first consignment of these vans was procured by Pakistan Railway on 27th November last year, which opened the path for the public to have access to cutting-edge travel amenities. This contract also has a technology transfer component which will allow Pakistan Railway to manufacture 184 similar coaches, including passenger, luggage, and brake vans.
Last year, Pak Railway did a test run of these coaches, which was successful. Since then, these coaches are being reportedly used on the main line in different express trains. Modern train coaches can run at a speed of 160 km, while wagons can operate at 80 km.
Similarly, another contract was entered into with another company to supply 820 wagons, according to a PR official.
Meanwhile, a department spokesman stated that the remaining 130 CBUs of wagons would be received by the end of March this year.
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