ISLAMABAD: The government has successfully transitioned 37 railway stations to solar power, part of a larger initiative to reduce reliance on conventional electricity. This shift is expected to save the railways an estimated Rs163.52 million in annual energy costs.
Of the 37 solarized stations, nine are located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 28 in Punjab. Key stations in Punjab include Lahore Cantt, Raiwind, Walton, Hassanabdal, Taxila, Chaklala, Okara City, Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Kot Lakhpat.
In KP, solarization has been completed at stations such as Kundian, Peshawar City, Attock City, Nowshera, and Jand.
This initiative is part of a broader government plan to solarize 155 railway stations nationwide at an estimated cost of Rs450 million. The solarization of an additional 42 stations is expected to be completed by December 2025, including 23 stations in the Multan division and nine in Rawalpindi. These projects alone are anticipated to save Rs40.4 million annually.
Work is also underway to solarize 10 stations in Balochistan, with a projected cost of Rs13.39 million and savings of Rs9.18 million annually. Financial evaluations are in progress for the solarization of 76 more stations, including 61 in Sindh and 15 in Balochistan, with estimated costs of Rs183.23 million and Rs15 million, respectively. Once complete, these projects are expected to reduce electricity bills by Rs113.86 million annually.
A senior official from the Ministry of Railways highlighted the government’s ongoing focus on infrastructure upgrades. He mentioned the Asian Development Bank’s agreement to finance the upgrade of a 500-kilometer stretch from Karachi to Rohri, as well as plans by the Punjab government to dualize tracks in the province.
The Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, linking Karachi to Peshawar, remains central to the government’s railway modernization strategy, promising improvements in freight and passenger services and enhanced regional connectivity with Central Asia.
The official also pointed to Punjab’s financial support for the Rawalpindi-Lahore fast train project, which will reduce travel time between the two cities, as further evidence of the government’s commitment to modernizing the railway sector.
