KOHAT: The road transport mafia has been monopolising the inter-provincial and intra-provincial routes while discouraging train service on Kohat-Rawalpindi and Kohat-Peshawar routes for decades now. Besides, the government has also been neglecting the restoration of rail service not only in Kohat district, but also in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The popular railcar service from Rawalpindi to Thall tehsil of Hangu in vogue since British era had been terminated dozens of times due to flimsy reasons of shortage of engines and sometimes surge in diesel prices. It had forced the passengers to travel in coaches in which four persons were virtually stuffed in the seat made for three by the fleet owners creating atmosphere of suffocation and intense sweating inside.

The fares are also at their disposal and they demand whatever they want against the fares issued by the provincial transport authority by threatening to stop the monopolised service.

In 80’s it was due to the launch of famous New Khan bus service between Kohat and Rawalpindi after which train was abruptly stopped on the route without assigning any plausible reason.

Govt fails to restore train service in southern districts

As the railcar carried passengers of more than 10 coaches in one go at much cheaper fare, the transporters feared it as their enemy number one. The influential transporters had just to ring up the railways ministry through some connections and the train stopped. And it was not because of a coincidence, but it was stopped at exact time of launching of any bus service carrying cunning intentions of the transporters behind it.

Now the railcar service had been stopped since May 2013 although diesel engines were also available and it could earn a handsome profit on the functional Rawalpindi track.

Only goods service was in progress which carried sleepers from factory in Kohat for supply to all over the country and that too had been showing profit and could easily drag two bogies, officials said. But the problem is that it carries the goods and sleepers twice or thrice a week and is not available on daily basis.

“It needs approach to the federal railways minister to start the train and in my view it is not possible by contacting the general manager. It requires somebody having strong backing like a delegation of elders led by MNA to meet the minister and will restart within days again,” a senior official requesting not to be named confided to Dawn.

He said that train journey was safe and people had to pay Rs70 less than the fare of coaches. The journey is usually very comfortable, as each train has water, fans, bathrooms, etc and the people could walk inside when tired. Then there was no reason left which could justify its closure.

The Kohat railway station was constructed in 1897 and completed in 1902. Its Kohat-Thall cantonment part was closed in 1991. The step-motherly attitude adopted towards Kohat rather all southern districts was abandonment of train service project on Peshawar route which was part of the present Kohat tunnel.

It is important to mention here that smoky coaches leave Kohat for Peshawar after every two minutes.

The rough attitude of the chief ministers belonging to the central districts of KP also did not allow that the southern part should thrive on the budget. The same mindset had been opposing Kalabagh dam because it would bring revolution in the lives of farmers belonging to the southern districts.

Dawn has learnt that before the construction of Rs5.2 billion Kohat tunnel project the people with futuristic ideas at the helm recommended to construct two tunnels because another one would be needed after a few years due to increasing rush.

But some people imposed their will that the second tunnel would be constructed by our own engineers who would learn from the Japanese and no foreign loan would be required for it.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2015

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