QUETTA, Jan 16 Work on the Quetta-Kandahar railway line project will start as soon as the Afghan government approves the plan, says a senior official of Pakistan Railways.

Talking to reporters on Saturday, Divisional Superintendent Quetta Maqbool Ahmed Magsi said that the feasibility study of the project had been sent to the Afghan government.

He said that the railway link between Quetta and Kandahar would help increase trade between the two countries.

He said Pakistan Railways was making efforts to provide maximum travelling facilities to the people of Balochistan.

The official said that 125 bomb blasts occurred at railway tracks in Balochistan since 2006, causing a loss of Rs300 million to the railways department.

Mr Magsi said there were 88 unmanned railway crossings out of a total 121 in the Quetta division, adding that the provincial government had been apprised of the situation.