As a major breakthrough in the national logistics and cargo infrastructure, Pakistan Railways has successfully launched the country’s first-ever Reefer Freight Train to provide more economical and environment-friendly freight solutions.
According to details, Marine Group of Companies in collaboration with Pakistan Railways achieved the milestone by operating Pakistan’s first-ever containerized refrigerated train in December 2021 which departed from the dry port of Marine International Container Terminal (MICT), Prem Nagar, Lahore, and arrived at Wazir Mansion, Karachi.
This intermodal cold chain solution has been enabled by ‘Pakistan Railways Freight Transportation Company (PRFTC), which facilitates the rail infrastructure operated by ‘Pakistan Intermodal Limited’ (PIL) and CMA CGM Pakistan, providing commercial support for this new cold chain corridor.
For the last five years, Pakistan Intermodal Limited has been playing a pivotal role in operating containerized freight trains in Pakistan and realizing the potential of Reefer containers.
The new operational phase begins with one train a week with plans for this service to operate 12 trains a month. The freight trains can minimize the delivery time and reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. On average, railroads are three to four times more fuel-efficient than trucks. That means moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% on average.
As more and more road-based reefer cargo finds its way to more economically and environmentally viable options. Pakistan Intermodal Limited (PIL) reefer block train system can generate billions of rupees annually in revenue for Pakistan Railways if the containerized freight trains are operated on schedule.
