Greenline Review
So we decided to travel by train to get back to Islamabad just to have a taste of train. Following is the brief review of our experience.
Greenline starting at 10pm, takes 22 hours to complete its journey from Karachi Cantt station to Islamabad's Margalla station. It stops at 7 stations, Hyderabad, Rohri, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Lahore, Chaklala, Rawalpindi, before reaching Islamabad. Inside each car, there are 9 cabins, each having 6 seats. Seats can convert into berths, eventually looking like bunk beds with three stories on each side. Ticket costs around 6000 PKR for an adult and 4500 PKR for a child. Tickets can be bought through PR's website which uses UBL Omni's payment system. You can make the payment through UBL Omni shop, mobile account or debit/credit card.
Pros:
* Train started on time and reached on time.
* Cleanliness was ensured inside the train through a vigilant cleaning staff
* Breakfast and lunch were served which were good in taste and quality. However I was told by fellow passengers that menu has remained the same since ages.
* Staff was courteous and humble, despite being government employees.
* Each cabin had an LCD with 3 channels running PSL, Bulbulay, Alpha Bravo Charlie on repeat.
* Every passenger was provided a bathroom kit which contained tooth brush, comb, tooth paste, shoe mitt, wet wipes.
* Washroom had water and liquid soap all the time.
* Sunrise was really beautiful and mesmerizing
Cons:
* There was only one washroom per car for about 55 passengers which meant frequent queues. Suggested to have two washrooms at both front and back, even if one cabin needs to be removed. Instead few hundred rupees can be added in the ticket cost to cover the loss of 6 passenger seats.
* Some stations had sewage water running beneath the train which made it quite smelly.
* For someone like me who is unable to sleep while traveling, journey was too long which means this cannot be done frequently. Its not really a fault of railway staff, rather the railway infrastructure needs to be upgraded to improve traveling speed.
* Every time we cross a city or town, we saw children playing around heaps of garbage. Again not really Pak Railway's fault, but that of provincial and local governments.
Best tea: Rohri
Worst: Khanewal