ISLAMABAD, : Pakistan Railways is making final preparations to reopen the Sibi-Harnai railway track for traffic as about 99 per cent of the reconstruction work of the project was completed and the remaining work would be completed soon.
“The railway’s track was made dysfunctional after a series of bomb blasts which damaged as many as 22 steel bridges in the highly rugged and inaccessible area,” sources in the Ministry of Railways told APP.
The reconstruction and renovation work on the strategic Sibi-Harnai railway is being completed with the assistance of the National Logistics Cell (NLC), they said.
The sources said the department had taken a keen interest in the reconstruction and renovation work of the project and asked the concerned official to complete the project at the earliest.
In March 2016, they said that a contract for rehabilitation and restoration of the Sibbi-Harnai railway track along with the up-gradation of railway stations was awarded to the NLC as no other construction firm agreed to undertake the project due to the prevalent security situation and enormity of the task.
During the initial survey of the track, the sources said it was found that 22 steel bridges of different sizes were destroyed and required replacement.
They said in addition, massive river protection work was to be undertaken to save the infrastructure. The quantum of work, non-availability of road access, and requisite resources made the project a formidable challenge, they added.
The sources said undertaking the project with the sincerity of purpose and utmost sense of duty, NLC officers, engineers, and construction workers braved harsh weather conditions and a hostile security environment and subsequently completed 99 per cent of the rehabilitation works in record time.
The major task was the fabrication of steel bridges. The steel bridges were fabricated in Karachi and were transported to the project site after being painstakingly assembled by NLC engineers in a befitting manner, they added.
They said a total of nine railway stations along with tracks had been upgraded by NLC engineers including the reconstruction of Harnai Railway Station and a complete renovation of Sibi Railways Station, which could be regarded as the finest railway station in Balochistan.
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