Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged an early groundbreaking of the 1,733 km Main Line‑1 during a meeting with ADB Vice‑President Yingming Yang on Friday, pressing the project as a national infrastructure priority.
- The ADB welcomed progress and agreed to back railway reforms and technical cooperation under the Country Partnership Strategy 2026–2030, including plans to form a joint working group on Pakistan Railways.
- Islamabad says procedural work has started on a proposed 480 km elevated first phase between Karachi and Rohri, which is estimated at about Rs450 billion and is expected to seek financing from Chinese banks and other international lenders.
- Officials are targeting a restart of physical works in early 2027 but warn that securing funding, attracting required engineering capacity, and clearing bureaucratic hurdles remain significant implementation risks.
- ML‑1 is a CPEC‑linked upgrade meant to double‑track the Karachi–Peshawar corridor, raise speeds toward 160 km/h, cut transport costs, and boost freight and passenger links across Pakistan and the region.