Transport in Pakistan
From Free net encyclopedia
The transportation is Pakistan has been developing extensively since the 1990s. The National Highway Authority has developed a brand new motorway system which connects nearly every major city in Pakistan.
Image:Pak Railway Headquarters Building July 5 2005.jpg Image:Motor cycles & scooters.jpg
The Pakistan Railways have also progressed by acquiring new locomotives from China. The ports have also been developing to deal with the endless demands for imports and exports the country is facing.
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The Traditional Way
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Walking
In the cities and farms, many people decide to walk great distances to either get to work or to walk to their nearest grocery store to get their daily shopping.
Reyri - Donkey & Cart
This type of transport is still visible every where in Pakistan, as people are poor they will use these to transport cargo from one part of a city to the next. The cargo they hold ranges from fruits and vegetables, textiles or machinery that factories require in industrial cities.
Tanga - Horse & Carriage
These are usually used for casual travelling around the city. There is one driver, with either one or two horses at the front. This method is now usually used by tourists in the spring and summer that love to see the cities in an open environment.
Camel & Cart
Mostly seen in the hotter parts of Pakistan including Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan where farmers transport larger cargo that donkey carts can not handle.
Bicycle
Mostly used by either the poorer society or for leisure. This method is still very widely used as its very economical and simple to run.
Domestic (Local) Transport
Within the city there are many way to get around the city. The vast ranges of transport available allows every person with a low or high budget to benefit. In the cities the most common types of transport include;
Buses
Image:Iqbal park tourist buses.jpg This is a relatively cheap and easy way to get around the city if you don't have enough to spend on taxis and chauffeur driven cars. In the cities the buses are run by the government as well as many private companies. The Daewoo Bus Company runs many of the inner city buses with latest state of the art buses that have very little pollution.
From 2000, the government has banned old, excess polluting, poorly run buses from cities to deal with the pollution levels that have become a problem in many cities in Pakistan.
The buses are given numbers according to which routes they are travelling or if in doubt there is usually a ticket person who you can ask for directions and fares. The buses do start to become late during the evening and early morning when traffic in the cities become very chaotic as there are many communters trying to get to work.
Coaches
The Daweoo City Bus has developed a new air-conditioned bus that is very modern and comes with air conditioning for the high temperatures experienced in the summers. These buses are a great way to get around the city if one wants to view the city. The buses are constantly running during the day so it is easy to get on another one throughout the day.
For long distance journeys from city to city (e.g. Lahore to Islamabad), the Sammi Daewoo Express coaches have proven to be a great success in the city as well as city to city travel. The Sammi Daewoo express bus service is providing services on more than 18 routes and operating more than 325 departures per day in Pakistan. The service are available at most cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Sialkot, Murree and many others including many future destinations.
Yellow/White Tayota Vans
These are private run vans that run services throughout the city to get commuters from one point in the city to the other. These are also referred to as "mini-buses" as the are like smaller versions of the coaches that carry less people and get commuters to their destinations more quickly.
Auto Rickshaws
The auto rickshaws are very similar to ones used in India, however the Pakistan version come in many different colours instead of the black/yellow versions India uses. The fare is usually negotiable in Pakistan which you should decide before you travel with them.
Due to the level of pollution contributed by the auto-rickshaws, the government is currently in planning with a Chicago based company to develop a CNG auto-rickshaw to lower the levels of pollution in the city.
There are many different types of auto-riskshaws in Pakistan ranging from two passengers to six seaters. There are also cargo versions that are purely used to transport cargo and parcels around the city for businesses.
Motorbikes/Scooters
The motorbike and scooter is one of the most familiar sites used by many people to move around the city. It is easy to travel on and stress free compared to cars and buses. Due to government laws, it is an offence to ride a motorbike or scooter without a helmet!
Since 1999, the number of brands and vareities of motorbikes and scooters have substantially increased to suit all budgets and sizes.
Cars
Cars owners are increasing at a huge rate as the middle class is growing at an incredible rate. The number of brands have also increased with Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes and BMW showrooms springing up in many of the cities in Pakistan. In the cities many people prefer to get compact versions such as Suzuki Mehran, Hyundai Club and Santro and Honda Civic. Due to the increasing demand the Adam Motors Company developed Pakistan's first own manufactured car called Revo.
Utility Vehicles
The number of utiltiy vehicles have become a familiar site in Pakistan. The car is very multi functional as it allows long distance and off road travel within cities as well as city to city travel.
Yellow Taxis Cabs
Another common sight seen at hotels and airports in Pakistan are the yellow taxi cars, its kind of saying these are the black cabs of London. The drivers charge according to the meter located on the dash board of the car. If they don't have one, you can negotiate a fare, the cabs drivers are reliable and will be happy to take you to any destination you need to get to.
Long Distance Travel
Railways
Image:Lahore railway station.jpg Image:Steam engine.jpg Pakistan's railways are run by the government of Pakistan called Pakistan Railways. Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway company of Pakistan. It is a large organization under the administration of the Pakistani Government's Ministry of Railways. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation in the farthest corners of the country and brings them closer for Business, sight seeing, pilgrimage and education. It has been a great integrating force and forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of people and freight.
Passenger earnings comprise 50% of the Railways total revenue. During 1999-2000 this amounted to Rs. 4.8 billion. Pakistan Railways carry 65 million passengers annually and daily operates 228 Mail, Express and Passenger Trains. Daily Passengers carried 1,78,000. Pakistan Railways also operate special trains during occasions like congregations of the Dawat-e-Islami and the Tableeghi Ijtima.
The Freight Business Unit with 12000 personnel, operates over 200 Freight Stations on the Railway Network. The Unit serves two major ports of Karachi and Bin Qasim as well as all the four provinces of the country and generates revenue from the movement of Agricultural, Industrial and imported products, Petroleum Oil & Lubricants (POL), Wheat, Coal, fertilizer, Rock Phosphate, Cement, Container traffic and Sugar. About 39% of the revenue is generated from the transportation of POL products, 19% from Imported Wheat, Fertilizer and Rock Phosphate. the remaining 42% is earned from domestic traffic. op Lifter in operation.
The Freight Business unit offers services to meet customers requirements, reduce costs through efficiency, innovation and modernization. All possible efforts are made to increase revenues and pass on the benefits to the customers. The Freight Business Unit is headed by an Additional General Manager
The Freight Rates structure is based on market trends particularly of the road transport which is Railways main competitor. The freight rates are no longer rigid but flexible, depending on the lead, peak off peak season, and quantum offered. Image:Two trains from above.jpg
Railway links with adjacent countires
- India - Operational (Attari-Wagha) - same gauge - 1676mm
- Afganistan - no - no railways to link to
- Iran - Suspended (as of 8 March 2006) - missing link Bam - Zahedan - break of gauge 1676mm/1435mm
- China - non-existent - via Himalaya mountains!
Railways Statistics
- Total: 8,163 km
- Broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified)
- Narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Motorways & Highways
- See also : List of motorways and highways of Pakistan
Image:Kimari flyovers.jpg During the 1990s, Pakistan begin a huge project to build a network of road links and central motorways to connect all the major cities and towns to a single network. The plan included connecting many of the improtant financial, cargo and textile cities, so cargo could be transported more easily and efficieintly from one end of the country to the other.
The linking of cities has allowed towns to develop into cities as access to the towns has become easy and allowed technological advances to become more accessible.
Here are the current motorways completed and already in use;
- M-1 is from Islamabad to Peshawar. It is a 155 km access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes.
- M-2 is from Lahore to Islamabad. It is a 367 km access-controlled motorway with 6 lanes. It was completed in November 1997.
- M-3 is from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad. It is a 53 km access-controlled motorway with 4 lanes, which, in future, can be increased to 6 lanes.
- M-4 is from Faisalabad to Multan with a total length of 200 km. It has 4 lanes, which, in future, can be increased to 6 lanes.
- M-5 is from Multan to Dera Ghazi Khan with a total length of 65 km and 4 lanes, which, in future, can be increased to 6 lanes.
- M-6 is from Dera Ghazi Khan to Ratodero with a total length of 450 km and 4 lanes, which, in future, can be increased to 6 lanes.
- M-7 is from Kakkar via Dureji to Karachi with a total length of 303 km and 2 lanes.
- M-8 is from Gwadar to Ratodero with a total length of 1072 km and 2 lanes.
- M-9 is from Karachi to Hyderabad with a length of 136 Km and 6 lanes.
- M-10 is the Karachi Northern Bypass, which has a total length of 56 km and 6 lanes.
A bus service Srinagar (India controlled) - Muzaffarabad (Pakistan controlled), with one bus service every two weeks, opened on 7 April 2005.
Coastal Highway
The Coastal Highway of Pakistan follows the coast of Sindh and Balochistan provinces, linking Karachi and Gwadar. Previously there was a muddy track linking Karachi with the town of Gwadar. Journeys between the two could take several days as the safest route was to travel via Quetta. The journey time has now been reduced to six or seven hours with the construction of the new Coastal Highway. The highway was built as part of an overall plan to improve transport facilities in southern Balochistan; other parts of the plan include the new seaport and international airport at Gwadar and the construction of a road linking Gwadar to Khuzdar.
Motorway Statistics
- Total: 257,683 km
- Paved: 152,033 km (including 339 km of expressways)
- Unpaved: 105,650 km (2001)
- Vehicles on road: 4.2 million vehicles 250,000 commercial vehicles[1] (2004 estimate)
Waterways
Pipelines
crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 885 km; natural gas 4,044 km (1987)
Ports and Harbours
There are currently three main ports of Pakistan, including two located in Karachi, and one minor port.
Merchant Marine
total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 288,249 GRT/444,451 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 1, cargo 15, container 3, petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)
Air Travel
For information see : Airports of Pakistan, Airlines of Pakistan
Image:Karachi-Terminal-00138.JPG Image:Terminal.JPG
Airport Statistics
131 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total:
91
over 3,047 m:
13
2,438 to 3,047 m:
22
1,524 to 2,437 m:
32
914 to 1,523 m:
16
under 914 m:
8 (2004 est. )
Airports - with unpaved runways
total:
43
1,524 to 2,437 m:
9
914 to 1,523 m:
12
under 914 m:
21 (2004 est.)
Heliports
18 (2005 est.)
See also
References
- CIA World Fact Book, 2005 Edition
- Pakistani Decorated Vehicles