LAHORE – The Pakistan Railways administration has said that the Gul Express, ECO container train, between Pakistan and Turkey via Iran, has become a permanent feature as it promotes regional and international trade links.
While contradicting a news item published in a local paper, PR Director Public Relations Mohsin Yousuf, in a press statement on Saturday, said the train had become a monthly service since August 2010 and runs on first Thursday of each month between Pakistan and Turkey. He said the ECO container train, re-named as Gul Express, was an ongoing project for which a high-level working group comprising railway experts of Pakistan, Iran and Turkey held meetings periodically to evolve a sustainable timetable.
He said the train should observe a timely schedule of 11 days from Islamabad to Istambul via Tehran, according to the given parameter, however, the train could not abide by the timetable because of natural hazards.
He said that some of the main causes of difficulties in implementation of the schedule included dunes on Quetta-Taftan and Taftan-Zahidan sections, operational bottlenecks in Iran and Turkey as the 500-kilometre newly laid track between Zahidan-Kirman was yet to be upgraded and Vanlake in Turkey where the cargo was transshipped and ferried.
Mohsin said the train had bright prospects to promote regional and international trade linking the ECO countries as well as offering transit trade route between Europe and Afghanistan with a potential to reach out to central Asian republics.
He said the private sector, especially Karachi Stock Exchange, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries were keen to join hands with PR in association with Unions of Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Turkey and Iran to make the train a success.
He said a meeting in the Ministry of Finance was held to review the progress especially the pre-feasibility report to be submitted by the Turkish delegates headed by Prof Given Sak and a feasibility study, based on the pre-feasibility report, would be undertaken to find out how to involve the private sector in the train operation.
He said the train was soon becoming a bi-monthly service to be followed by weekly service in the near future.
