Islamabad, May 3, 2025: The dream of a lightning-fast bullet train connecting Lahore and Rawalpindi has captured public imagination, but experts warn it’s far from achievable — at least for now.
Fresh analysis reveals Pakistan faces three critical obstacles: crumbling railway infrastructure, staggering project costs, and a challenging landscape that demands far more than a simple upgrade.
Railway insiders confirm that Pakistan’s current tracks, averaging speeds of just 60–70 km/h, are no match for bullet train demands. Even the country’s fastest rail journeys still exceed four hours.
“Running a bullet train on these tracks is beyond impossible,” one railway official bluntly stated, highlighting the lack of modern coaches, locomotives, and signaling systems necessary for high-speed operations.
Financially, the numbers are eye-watering. A full-fledged high-speed rail system would require an estimated $12–15 billion — a figure well beyond Pakistan’s current transport budget.
Even a limited plan to raise speeds to 160 km/h by upgrading existing tracks could swallow up Rs. 400 billion and still fall short of international bullet train benchmarks, which start at 250 km/h.
Then there’s the geography. Unlike flat routes seen in countries like Japan or France, the Lahore-Rawalpindi corridor twists through sharp curves, hilly regions, and crosses major rivers including the Chenab, Ravi, and Jhelum.
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Mechanical engineer Riaz Rashid emphasized, “Such conditions demand a completely new, purpose-built track — a challenge even India has wrestled with for nearly a decade.”
For context, while China has rapidly expanded its bullet train network, neighboring India has faced repeated delays since launching its Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project in 2016, largely due to similar land and cost challenges.
What do you think — should Pakistan invest in this mega-project or focus on modernizing its existing railway? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the debate on the future of high-speed travel!
