[5][6] In 1855, during the British Raj, several railway companies began laying track and operating in Sindh and Punjab.

The Kot Adu–Kashmore section of the Kotri–Attock Railway Line was built from 1969 to 1973, providing an alternate route from Karachi to northern Pakistan.

The board was conceived in accordance with the principal powers of the central government as stipulated in the Railways Act IX of 1890.

After the first session of the third national assembly, President Muhammad Ayub Khan issued Presidential Order 33 on 9 June 1962.

The Board members are: Pakistan Railways has three functional units: operations, manufacturing and welfare and special initiatives.

The railway has eight territorial operating divisions: Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Sukkur and Gwadar.

The workshop complex emerged at its present site in 1904 to manufacture, repair and overhaul passenger coaches and freight wagons for the North Western State Railway.

[13] After partition, the Moghalpura Railway Workshops continued to host some 14,000 workers specializing in engineering skills.

[14] The railway owns five concrete sleeper factories in Sukkur, Khanewal, Kohat, Shahinabad and Kotri.

[citation needed] In 2017, 55 additional locomotives (4000 horsepower) manufactured in the United States were added to the Pakistan Railways fleet.

In future, Pakistan Railways aim to upgrade all main lines to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).

[19][20] The future electrification with 25 kV AC requiring minimum overhead wiring height must be 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in) above top of rail and minimum track center spacing must be 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in), and platform height must be no more than 200 mm (7.9 in) above top of rail, to prevent catenary thefts.

It set up a website during the early 2000s to provide travelers with up-to-date information about seat availability, departures and arrivals.

With 12,000 employees, the unit generates revenue from the movement of agricultural, industrial and imported products such as petroleum oil and lubricants, wheat, coal, fertilizer, rock phosphate, cement and sugar from the ports to the interior.

On 14 August 2009, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani launched a freight train between Islamabad and Istanbul via Tehran.

[36][37] A documentary film of the railway featuring its steam locomotives was made by Nick Lera in 1997 with the title Pakistan - Rails to the North West Frontier.

[38] New rail lines have been proposed by Pakistan Railways to connect Gwadar Port to Central Asia, including: Over 1,409 kilometres (876 mi) of tracks have been doubled since the track-doubling project began in the 1990s.

In March 2010, the Pakistani government announced plans to privatise Pakistan Railways and split it into four businesses focusing on passenger operations, freight, infrastructure and manufacturing.

In 2001, Pakistan Railways signed a $91.89 million contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation to manufacture 175 high-speed passenger coaches.

Forty passenger coaches have been received, and 105 were scheduled to be assembled in Pakistan Railways' carriage factory.

The Beijing Research and Design Institute is committed to provide 300 rail cars to Pakistan Railways.

[citation needed] According to a 2004 agreement with China National Machinery and Equipment Group, the Chinese company would begin the construction of Corridor 1 of a light-rail mass-transit system in Karachi which is intended to serve four million commuters.

This would include air-conditioning 40 coaches, converting 10 power vans and providing 100 high-speed bogies; 30 would be imported from China, and 70 would be manufactured domestically on a transfer-of-technology basis.

In Pakistan’s case, CPEC has continually been discussed ever since its announcement back in 2015, despite the fact that there has not been a major development in years.

The study will cover a 750-kilometre (470 mi) section between Havellian and the 4,730-metre-high (15,520 ft) Khunjerab Pass over Mansehra District and the Karakoram Highway.

By expanding its stake in Pakistan's rail sector, China can utilise the country's advantageous geographic position at the confluence of South, Central and West Asia.

During the first week of February 2007, Pakistan Railways and Dongfang Electric signed an agreement to establish a rail link between Havellian and Khunjerab.

The chief aim of the venture is to connect the Central Asian republics with Pakistan Railways' network through Afghanistan.

The app aims to provide passengers with a convenient way to manage their tickets, seats, booking, food, hotel and taxi-related matters.

The minister for Railways views the initiative as a win-win situation for the department, as the app will also help maintain its income record.