I have read the pro & cons of the bullet trains in this thread. In my view we are putting the cart before the horse?
British left us a well-run Railway system. However over the past decade, Pakistan Railways has been allowed to fall into disrepair. First & foremost need of the day is to revamp existing system. We still don’t have double tracks on all of our main lines. Our primary railway artery runs through Lahore which is too close to the border with India. We need to modernize the track that runs inland thru Sargodha. We also need to connect Peshawar with Quetta without having to go all the way down to Sukkur.
All of this would need lot of investment in the infrastructure and as well as in the rolling stock (Engines & bogies). Next thing would be to eliminate corruption and improving efficiency of the management so that trains run on time; maintenance staff is properly trained and the Railways is not short changed on its revenue. It is only after all of the above that we should think of improving the system further to be able to operate sophisticated bullet train.
Railways don’t cause traffic congestion and is definitely the most comfortable & cheapest mass transit system available. Hence developed countries of the world use railways for mass transport, whether for intercity or within the city. Holland is a small country, but train system is excellent. Children use railways for going to school as well.
There is something terribly wrong with Pakistani mind-set. Apparently, my countrymen like to jump the gun and /or use short cuts. Pakistan is not Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore & Karachi. Majority of our population still lives in the villages. We have spent billions on metro system. It undoubtedly improves movement within the city. But don’t you think that the same amount of money spent on improving efficiency of the Railway network would have provided greater benefit to larger number of Pakistanis. Don’t’ we want to make lives of rural Pakistanis more comfortable?
What Pakistan needs is political leadership with vision and genuine passion to improve the lot of ordinary Pakistanis; this is however sadly lacking among the current crop of politicians bar none.
