Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a ceremony at Karachi Cantt to launch the refurbished Shalimar Express and inspect newly completed station works.
- The upgraded hub now offers CIP lounges, expanded waiting areas, escalators, executive washrooms, POS-based instant ticketing, ATMs, information desks and a QR code complaint system.
- Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah attended as the federal and Sindh governments pledged cooperation on modernising stations and reviving the Karachi Circular Railway.
- Officials highlighted operational reforms including outsourcing 14 trains, reorganising freight services and assuring protections for railway employees under the new model.
- Sharif cited ongoing talks with the Asian Development Bank for about $2 billion to upgrade the Karachi–Rohri corridor, alongside active works at Rohri Station and plans to extend links toward Central Asia and revive the Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul route.