Under a Karakoram Express private operating arrangement announced by Pakistan Railways, the Lahore–Karachi train will be run by the private company Prime Rail from October 30, 2026. The railway said the change is part of its wider plan to hand mail and express train operations to the private sector in stages.
Who handles bookings, and when
Pakistan Railways will keep managing ticket bookings for the train until October 29, 2026. From October 30, Prime Rail will take over bookings and other related operations, the railway said.
Prime Rail has also been given permission to start bookings for the train. Sources said the management of the Raabta app, the platform used for bookings, has been told to begin advance ticket bookings under the new setup.
Why the railway is handing over services
Pakistan Railways is the state-run national rail operator. Privatisation in this sense means a private firm takes over the day-to-day running of a service, and the railway is moving more services across in stages. The Karakoram Express private arrangement applies to this one train for now, and the railway has described it as one step in that gradual process.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan Railways ne elan kiya hai ke Karakoram Express, jo Lahore aur Karachi ke darmiyan chalti hai, 30 October 2026 se private company Prime Rail chalayegi. 29 October tak bookings Pakistan Railways hi sambhalega, uske baad Prime Rail bookings aur doosre kaam dekhega. Safar se pehle tickets ki maloomat ke liye Raabta app ya railway ke counter se rabta karein.
