The railway track is dual between Keamari and Shahdara Bagh, Chaklala and Golra Sharif.

In 2016, funding for a six-year US$6.8 billion upgrade and renovation project was agreed as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, with the average speed expected to be doubled to 140 kilometers per hour upon completion.

[7] Following the completion of the line, the Indus Steam Flotilla began docking in Kotri (instead of Karachi) from Multan.

In 1876, the Punjab Northern State Railway was constructed between Lahore and Peshawar and in 1883 the Attock Bridge over the Indus River was opened.

[11] In 1878, the Empress Bridge over the Sutlej River was opened and in 1879 the Indus Valley State Railway reached Rohri.

Since 2015 plans were drawn to expand and reconstruct the ML-1 main line, funded by Chinese loans, as part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

[15] The plan involves doubling the track from Karachi to Peshawar, providing grade separation, as well as communications-based train control.

[18] The project has been delayed for years, with reports in January 2022 suggesting that there was no funding plan in place and China also reluctant to provide capital.

[15] Upgrading of the railway line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 kilometers per hour, versus the average 60 to 105  km per hour speed currently possible on existing track,[21] and is expected to increase Pakistan Railways' annual revenues by approximately US$480 million.