PESHAWAR, Dec 23 (INP): Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed on Sunday inaugurated the high-speed ‘Rahman Baba Express’ train to facilitate people travelling between Peshawar and Karachi.

The train, with 10 economy-class coaches and a brake van, will run between the cities with a total journey time of 26 hours and fare of Rs1,350.

It will pass through various cities including Nowshera, Attock City, Rawalpindi, Wazirabad, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rohri, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Landhi.

[timed-content-server show="12/24/2018 01:00 Asia/Karachi"]Passengers traveling via Rahman Baba Express on the first day (today) will be charged half the ticket. Speaking on the occasion, said the real goal is to increase the number of freight trains in the country. He announced to launch a container train on January 25 next year. Mr Rasheed expressed a desire to run a train service between Peshawar and Lahore. He said he had issued directives for removal of all encroachments from railway lands. “If corruption is not eliminated even now, the country won’t move forward,” he asserted, adding, “the people stand by Prime Minister Imran Khan for real change.” The minister said the people voted for Mr Khan to hold corrupt people to account. He vowed to launch as many as 20 new trains in a year and provide cheaper transport facilities to the poor. He said the prime minister had set up a complaint cell which addressed the complaints so far it received yesterday. Addressing media at the inauguration of the latest rail service, Sheikh Rasheed said the Rahman Baba Express is a gift from Prime Minister Imran Khan to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The railways minister said the entire rail track from Karachi to Peshawar would be upgraded, and passengers would soon be able to travel from Karachi to Peshawar in eight hours. He added that three trains would be launched for safari tourism as well. "People voted for Imran Khan so that corrupt elements can be put behind bars," Rasheed said. He called for encroachments to be cleared from rail tracks, and lamented that the railways had handed out commissions in the past only to end up incurring financial losses. "When the trains run, the country's economy would be [revived] as well," he said. Pakistan Railways recently launched nine trains including the Sindh Express, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Express, Lahore-Faisalabad Non Stop, Mianwali Railcar, Rawalpindi Express, Mohenjodaro Express, Rohi Express and Dhabeji Express. INP/LK/AJ[/timed-content-server]