Shalimar Express (Urdu: شالیمار ایکسپریس) is a passenger train operated daily by Pakistan Railways between Karachi and Lahore.

[1] The trip takes approximately 18 hours and 40 minutes to cover a published distance of 1,286 kilometres (799 mi), traveling along a stretch of the Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line, The Shalimar Express was inaugurated in 1979 by then President Zia-ul-Haq.

The train at that time only consisted of 2 parlour coaches and had only two stops and covered the 1,214 kilometres (754 mi) distance from Karachi to Lahore in 16 hours.

It consisted of two dark green strips with a yellow middle livery, while the windows of the train were tinted black to prevent heat and sunlight from entering the coaches.

Since the Hitachi engines were just 2000 HP each, two units were deployed to haul the Shalimar Express, but their poor quality led to a disruption and delay in the train service causing agitation among the passengers.