Lahore to Karachi by Business Express

[haa0518]

Hello brothers,

As promised i am uploading as many pics i got from and of the train. inshAllah i will keep on uploading. I went to Lahore by plane airblue. I will not recommend it to anyone unless it is urgent for them to go because the planes were Airbus A320's which are like a car.. When taking off i felt as if a car is taking off and while landing don't ask what the pilot did, anyway coming back to the topic.

When i had to plan my return journey i had in mind that no matter what happens i will not travel by plane domestically. They are simply not worth it and they are too overpriced. I will always recommend to go by road or by train (Business Express only).

The business express service did not start when i had to travel to lahore and i was in a hurry to go because of some commitments made. But when coming back the Pak business express services were started and I made up my mind that i have to travel by train no matter what happens.

I really like travelling whether it is by road, by air (good planes only ) or by trains.

At that time there was no Business Budget/Economy class so i had to get the ticket for the business class which was of Rs 5000.00. The staff were good and very helpful. the business lounge was also good.. i bought the ticket one day before i travelled. what i did is that i got on the train and surveyed the train because i wanted to see that is it really business class or a joke anyway i must say it is a Business Class train.

Overall the journey was very pleasant and i really liked it.. i will recommend it to others and would say that please travel by train and you can also take your families because:
- the environment is very good (environment as in the overall environment)
- the toilets are clean
- newly refurbished carriages
- guards
- non-stop (the train stops but the doors are closed and do not open)
- arrives at the destination before time
- nice food but not very good, at least better than what you get on stations
- ac/heater
- very friendly staff

i will not get critical because i think it is a very nice effort and we shall support it.. and we shall also pray that out trains and tracks get upgraded because once they are done trust me no one is going to travel by plane because the scenery is just plain beautiful. Loved the farms, greenery, villages, rivers and the journey..

I have got many pictures but most of them are of inside the train. the tracks and some other stuff but i will be more than happy to upload them. You guys can ask any questions you want to ask.

The engine after reaching Karachi. Couldn't snap it when i was getting on the train because the engine was far away and i had to get my window seat

[haa0518]

While at the Lahore station i saw this old engine, which i am sure has performed its duty for many years and now it needs some service and maintenance which is its right :P.

in my personal opinion i think the government needs to invest on the rail network and the transport because in many countries the transport network accounts for most of their revenues generates. The best example is London where there are so many rail connections that people prefer going by train rather than their own cars. One day i would love to see this system in our country.

These railway tracks are the 'meherbaani' of the British people that they have laid down the tracks for us and since then we are only maintaining them, and i am sure the maintenance is not even done properly. We have destroyed the railway network and still using the old engines and old ways whereas our neighbour has advanced and grown its railway network. They have Electric powered trains whereas we are still relying on diesel engines.

[yasirkhanpk]

Good to hear that you enjoyed your trip.
The air fare were pretty reasonable not very long ago i.e. 10 months ago. The air fare sky rocketed suddenly and now to be honest they are out of range for many people.

Do post as many pictures of the train as possible. It will encourage others to travel by this new train :).
I don't know why the parlor carriage was discarded from karakoram train. It was pretty comfortable and good. But this government has destroyed everything what to talk of railways.

[haa0518]

Good to hear that you enjoyed your trip.
The air fare were pretty reasonable not very long ago i.e. 10 months ago. The air fare sky rocketed suddenly and now to be honest they are out of range for many people.

Do post as many pictures of the train as possible. It will encourage others to travel by this new train :).
I don't know why the parlor carriage was discarded from karakoram train. It was pretty comfortable and good. But this government has destroyed everything what to talk of railways.

yes the air fares have gone up now and that is because of the rise in the price of petroleum products. i have failed to understand that why after few days they have to increase the petroleum prices. we don't see so many fluctuations in prices in other parts of the world. Also i think that the railways was going in profits when it was with the previous government.
The air fares now can cost you from 8300 - 13000. To list the airlines according to air fares:

1. PIA
2. Air blue
3. Shaheen airways

i will try my best to post as many pictures as i can and i have heard that these carriages are the refurbished carriages of Karakoram express. :-#

[kn_khipk]

guess this is the first business class train thread...good, good! where are the pictures? cant wait to see the inside of the train.

[capsat]

am sure you have enjoyed the train travel. where are pictures of cabin, food, bedding & dining cars interior or you enjoyed ride with engine driver

[devilzmafia]

Nice thread and yes you are right it is a nice effort and we support it !

[haa0518]

guess this is the first business class train thread...good, good! where are the pictures? cant wait to see the inside of the train.

brother just resizing the pictures because they were taken from a digital camera and they need to be resized so that i can upload them quickly for you guys to see.

am sure you have enjoyed the train travel. where are pictures of cabin, food, bedding & dining cars interior or you enjoyed ride with engine driver

yes i enjoyed it a lot.. it was very comfortable i have got all the pictures just re-sizing them and once done they will be up here for you guys to enjoy.

Nice thread and yes you are right it is a nice effort and we support it !

yes we shall support the goods and simultaneously we shall also work to improve them so that we get the best of every thing.

[Mistero]

hate flying domestically especially after the condition PIA has gone in...

okay quick question...hmmm the doors remain closed...what is the onboard smoking policy?...I just hope they do not expect us smokers to remain without a smoke for 18 hours...is there a separate place where you can smoke?

[fahadsoulsnatcher911]

Eagerly waiting for pictures
So the experience was good
the question arises that are you satisfied / dont feel robbed
oh and on a 5 point rating how would you rate as for family/individual travelling ?

[affan555]

desperately waiting for more pics!!!

[haa0518]

hate flying domestically especially after the condition PIA has gone in...

okay quick question...hmmm the doors remain closed...what is the onboard smoking policy?...I just hope they do not expect us smokers to remain without a smoke for 18 hours...is there a separate place where you can smoke?

omer bhaii.. good to see you here offcourse you guys can smoke but you know the area where the two carraiges are connected, the place near the doors. you can smoke there but you cannot smoke in the compartments. But i assume that as time passes on people will start smoking in their cabins.. you know how we are :D:-#:-#

Eagerly waiting for pictures
So the experience was good
the question arises that are you satisfied / dont feel robbed
oh and on a 5 point rating how would you rate as for family/individual travelling ?

sirr the experience was lovely... and i feel very much satisfied and i don't feel robbed because its worth it.. the journey and everything loovellyyy..

for families i would suggest that if a family wants to travel they book six tickets and get the whole cabin and they can have their privacy and everything. and trust me they will not regret travelling. for an experience it is good but when looking at it from the finance perspective 6 adult tickets will cost 54,000 PKR (return) which is very high and a family can go by car in around 12,000 PKR petrol driven.

for friends i would recommend that they go in groups than this trip is the best. they will have the times of their lives. separate cabin and full masti time. also they can go by car.. but driving, police, road conditions.

Also another thing to worry about is that after you reach lahore how are you going to commute because the rikshaw drivers will know that you are from Karachi and they will tell you exceptionally high prices (i've experienced it) if you have got friends there then no need to worry about the travelling.

[haa0518]

ok guys.. the pictures are scrambled and not in line i will attach and explain with the pictures... they were taken from a digital camera and a blackberry phone. the pictures taken from the digital camera had to be compressed and resized. if any one of you wants the pitcures you can pm me and i will email you.. PW did not allow me to upload the pictures may be because of the size or so.. anyway sorry for the bad quality pictures..

first i will post the pictures taken from the digital camera and then from the BB

these pictures are of the day when i went to book the tickets. i went there to book the tickets but luckily it was the time of the train departure. so i thought to check the train before i buy the tickets. the sales staff were very friendly and allowed me to have a look and the train before i book the tickets. they were very confident and said 'sir daikh lain ap ko zaroor pasand ayegi' and they were correct. i liked it and after looking at the train and everything i booked the tickets.

the cabin or the room which can accommodate a maximum of six passengers and consists of 6 beds. Lower level, mid level and the top level.

outside of the cabin where passengers can sit and relax if they are tired from sitting in the rooms.

the toilet. although i don't prefer using toilets outside but you never know when the nature can call.. so they were pretty clean and i was happy to see that there was toilet paper present as well which was a real relief. there was a desi style toilet as well but i forgot to snap that :-# even that was pretty clean. water was there, hand-wash was there and it was cleaned constantly.

the beautiful carriage from outside. its in pristine condition at the moment and i really hope and pray that it stays the same.

passengers going to board the train. the good thing and a little funny thing is that even after buying the tickets, on the day of travelling you have to get a boarding pass from the staff which are present at the station.

[haa0518]

the food containers which were ready to be stored in the train. then later they were served at around 08:00pm - 08:30pm. the food was from PC and Marriott hotel. later there are food pictures as well. Snacks, Dinner, Breakfast.

Another picture of the carriage from outside with a worker on the left hand side. the staff i must say are very motivated. i don't know for how long that is going to last but for now they are great.. very well mannered. they have also received some training before the actual service started.

an old engine GMU 30 SR... i like old engines but at museums only not on railway tracks... they are not safe, not maintained and the Railways is risking passengers and the drivers safety.

another view of the lahore station platforms 6 and A..

the old engine pulling off many carriages. i wonder where it was going..

[haa0518]

various tuck shops on the business express platform. i didn't get anything from them because i knew that i was going to get served by the Pak Business Express. but they are good for people who are travelling on business budget class which comes without meals. they can buy food from these shops if they have forgot to buy it before travelling. nice and colourful shops.

passengers coming out from the business lounge and on their way towards the train. the train staff were helping ladies and families with infants by carrying their luggage. Also when entering the business lounge there were staff deployed to carry the luggage to the business lounge. very nice i must say. no coolie system on these services but still we seen them around.
we also see two guys at the right hand side looking at the female traveller. :-#:D:D

another view of the outside of the business lounge. on top we can see business lounge written in yellow alphabets. very nice weather and very nice lounge.

the outside of the lounge from the front. two people going towards the train whereas the coolies looking at them and a guard standing at the gate of the lounge.

the iconic lahore station. very nice and the red brick building. very nice. we need these sorts of buildings. this will create a good image of Pakistan in the eyes of foreign travellers and the people of Pakistan.

[nickatnite]

Is there internet connectivity in the carriages?

[haa0518]

a panoramic view of the lahore station. the website is not allowing me to upload high quality pictures sorry guys. isi se guzara kar loo and if you guys need HQ pics pm me your email and i'm more than happy to send them to you via e-mail. very nice station.. i liked it a lot. very different from those we see in other parts of the world..

[haa0518]

inside the Pak Business express office. this are is before entering the business lounge. the staff are very friendly and ready to help. You need your orignal cnic when you want to book and they will give you a stamped receipt. i liked that too. however i think major improvement could be made to the online website. as they have targeted the business customers then business customers also like to book on-line and for that i think they need to improve.

far left we see the entrance of the business lounge. before entering the business lounge the boarding pass of the passengers is seen and then they are allowed to go in.

a panoramic view of the booking lounge. left hand side there are many seats for people to sit and wait till their number is called.

inside the business lounge. i wonder why they lights were off. maybe because there was enough sunlight. i think they were trying to save electricity which is a good thing. on the far right again we see a prayer place where people were offering their prayers. i wonder where these stairs go

another view of the business lounge area. there are many seats but i think if the train operates on a full capacity then these seats will not be enough to accommodate the people. however a very nice business lounge i must say. i think they call it business lounge because we don't have such type of business lounges in the country and they are something new for the people so that is why they've named it as the business lounge. again a very nice clean and tidy place. also water and tea was being offered here before boarding the train, and they were free of cost. Green tea and coffee was also being offered. Real business lounge i must say.
there was wi-fi in the lounge but it was secured. then i had to ask the manager for the key because i wanted to see whether they are really offering it or not. But yes he provided me with the wi-fi key and then i connected onto it. the speed was nice. connection was of PTCL and i would suggest them to print out and paste papers with the wi-fi key.

[haa0518]

a mobile charging station sponsored and provided by United Mobile, which is free to use. A very nice move again i must say because this is something which we see at airports and not in train station waiting lounges. there i charged my BB phone and it was ready to snap pics. use bbm a lot that's why have to keep it charged constantly. also had an extra battery just in case you know. other people also benefited from these free charging points.

a view of the booking counters from the business lounge. we a pak business express employee who is there to check the boarding pass of the customers/travellers before letting them in the lounge.

another charging station on the left hand side we can see.. so there are a total of two charging stations in the business lounge itself and there are two sockets in every cabin of the carriage. and no load shedding :D:D we also see in this picture the office of the manager of the station. open office so people can see what is he upto

another view of the lounge and the platform sorry for the dark pictures. this was because of the lights turned off at the lounge and the sunlight from outside.

a very funny yet indeed a very worrying situation. there shall be weight restrictions on the train. this was a luggage of one family. i just tried to snap the luggage. i am not against carrying a lot of luggage and i do not intend to make fun but people shall try to keep their luggages to a minimal because its a domestic train. and i also think that pak business express shall charge extra for so many luggage pieces. so in this picture we also see two containers of home made pickels on the right hand side my small hand carry

[a_n_memon88]

nice pictures. As for hq pictures upload them to some site like flickr and share the link here that way we can see some hq stuff