From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Proposed railway line in Pakistan
Khunjerab Railway
?????? ??? ?????
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The proposed route of the Khunjerab Railway is indicated by the brown line
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Other name(s)
| China?Pakistan railway
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Status
| Semi-Planned
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Owner
| Pakistan Railways
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Termini
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Stations
| 7
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Operator(s)
| Pakistan Railways
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Line length
| 737 km (458 mi)
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Track gauge
| 1,676 mm
(
5 ft 6 in
)
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Operating speed
| 30 km/h (19 mph) to 50 km/h (31 mph)
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Khunjerab Railway
(
Urdu
:
?????? ??? ?????
), also known as
China?Pakistan railway
and ML-5, is one of several proposed
railway lines in Pakistan
, to be operated and maintained by
Pakistan Railways
. The current active line begins from
Taxila Junction station
and ends at
Havelian station
. A proposed extension will see new track laid from Havelian station to the
Pakistan-China border
at the
Khunjerab Pass
where it will link up with
China
's
Kashgar?Hotan railway
.
[1]
[2]
History
[
edit
]
In 2007, consultants
[3]
were engaged to investigate the construction of a railway through the
Khunjerab Pass
in
Gilgit-Baltistan
to connect
China Railway
with
Pakistan Railways
. A feasibility study started in November 2009 for a line connecting
Havelian
and
Kashgar
. 750 km (466 mi) of the line would extend through Pakistan, while the remaining 350 km (217 mi) in China.
[4]
In June 2014, China commissioned a "preliminary research study" to build an international rail link to Pakistan.
[5]
In 2016 this 682 km proposed railway link was reported to be part of the
China?Pakistan Economic Corridor
,
[6]
and was to commence construction during the second phase of
CPEC
between 2018 and 2022.
[7]
[8]
However the construction of this railway line was not mentioned in the CPEC Long Term Plan from 2017 to 2030
[9]
released jointly by China and Pakistan in 2017. China's involvement in several rail projects in Pakistan is motivated primarily by commercial considerations, but it also sees distinct advantages for its improved transportation and access to
Central Asia
and the
Persian Gulf
states.
Route
[
edit
]
The stations on this line are as follows:
Active Line
Proposed Line
[1]
Cost
[
edit
]
Pakistan awarded a Rs72 million (US$1.2 million) contract to an international consortium to carry out a feasibility study for establishing a rail link with
China
to boost trade relations between the two countries.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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Proposed or under construction
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Tourist and heritage railways
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