Awam Express Now Runs Under Private Management: Upgraded Coaches, New Dining Car on Karachi–Peshawar Route

By Daniyal Sheikh | Published: 10 November 2026 | Category: Pakistan

Pakistan Railways has handed the commercial management of the Karachi–Peshawar Awam Express to a private operator, AA Enterprises, in a ceremony held at Rawalpindi Railway Station on Monday, 9 November 2026. The upgraded train, now operating under a public-private partnership, comes with modern facilities and a brand-new dining car, and the move was announced on a day when Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi said the department’s revenue had risen from Rs88 billion to Rs115 billion, crossing the Rs100 billion mark for the first time.

For the thousands of passengers who travel between Karachi and Peshawar every week, the change is meant to be felt in the carriage rather than on a press release. Sindh Governor Syed Muhammad Nihal Hashmi, who inaugurated the upgraded service, said the train would offer safer, more comfortable and improved travel facilities, and that the partnership with the private sector reflected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s commitment to better-quality and comfortable travel for the public. No fare changes or new timings were announced in the reports of the day, so for now the story is about the service itself: newer coaches, a dining car, and a private operator answerable for the passenger experience.

Key Facts

What Has Changed on the Awam Express

The headline change is who runs the train day to day. Pakistan Railways has handed the commercial management of the Awam Express to AA Enterprises, a private operator, while the train itself remains part of the national railway network. The arrangement is a public-private partnership, the same model the department has been using to bring private management into passenger services without selling off the railway itself.

The train passengers will board is not the old one. The upgraded Awam Express has been equipped with modern facilities aimed at improving the passenger experience, and a new dining car has been introduced so that food and refreshments are available during the long journey between Karachi and Peshawar. Governor Hashmi, who inaugurated the upgraded service, described the initiative as a practical step towards modernising Pakistan Railways and improving passenger services, and said the upgraded train would offer safer, more comfortable and improved travel facilities on the route.

The route matters because of its length. Karachi to Peshawar is one of the longest passenger journeys on the network, crossing Sindh and Punjab before reaching Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On a trip that long, the condition of the coaches and the availability of food on board are the difference between a journey passengers tolerate and one they would choose again. That is the bet behind the handover: a private operator with a direct interest in filling seats will look after the coaches, the catering and the service standards more closely than a department running dozens of trains at once.

The Ceremony at Rawalpindi and the Revenue Milestone

The formal handover was marked at Rawalpindi Railway Station on Monday, where Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi spoke at the ceremony to inaugurate the outsourcing of the Awam Express’s commercial management to AA Enterprises. Abbasi used the occasion to point to the department’s improving finances, saying Pakistan Railways’ revenue had increased from Rs88 billion to Rs115 billion, crossing the Rs100 billion mark for the first time.

That revenue figure is the backdrop to the whole outsourcing push. In the 2025-26 financial year, Pakistan Railways recorded revenue of Rs115.16 billion, up about 24.2% on the previous year, with freight contributing around Rs40.7 billion and passenger services around Rs50.59 billion. The department has set itself a bigger target for 2026-27: Rs160 billion in total revenue, split between Rs65 billion from freight and Rs60 billion from passengers. Hitting that target will depend on both sides of the business — more freight trains on the tracks and more passengers choosing the train.

The freight side of that plan is already moving. Pakistan Railways plans to raise its freight trains from 9 to 14 by January 2027, a step that would lift the freight earnings the department is counting on. The Awam Express handover is the passenger side of the same strategy: bring in private operators to run the commercial side of passenger trains, improve the service, and grow the fare revenue that makes up the other half of the target.

Why Railways Is Outsourcing Passenger Trains

The Awam Express is not the first train to be handed to a private operator, and it is unlikely to be the last. In June 2026, Pakistan Railways outsourced five passenger trains under public-private partnerships in a deal worth about Rs10.75 billion: the Awam Express, Millat Express, Karakoram Express, Mianwali Passenger and Narowal Passenger. The ceremony at Rawalpindi on Monday was the formal inauguration of the Awam Express’s commercial handover under that programme.

The logic is straightforward. Pakistan Railways has long struggled with the cost of running passenger services, where fares are kept low and operating costs are high. Outsourcing the commercial management — ticketing, catering, onboard services and the upkeep of the passenger experience — shifts the day-to-day commercial risk to a private company while the railway keeps the tracks, the locomotives and the safety oversight. If the operator does its job well, more passengers travel, revenue rises, and the department earns more without spending more. If it does not, the contract gives the railway a lever it did not have when it ran everything itself.

The model is also being applied beyond passenger trains. The department is planning upgrades to the ML-1 and ML-2 main lines under public-private partnerships, the biggest infrastructure projects on the network. Rail investment is picking up across the region, too: the Gulf states have signed an agreement for a 2,117 km railway linking six countries.

At home, the same week has brought other railway news for passengers. The Lahore–Faisalabad train service resumes on 15 November, restoring a direct link between two of Punjab’s biggest cities. Taken together, the announcements point to a railway that is trying to do two things at once: run more trains, and run them better.

What Passengers Should Know

For anyone planning to travel on the Awam Express, the practical facts are these. The train runs between Karachi and Peshawar, and it is now commercially managed by AA Enterprises under a public-private partnership. The coaches have been upgraded, modern facilities have been added, and a new dining car is now part of the service, offering food and refreshments during the journey.

What has not been announced is any change to fares or to the train’s timings. Neither the Tribune nor the Business Recorder reports of the handover mentioned a fare revision or a new timetable, so passengers should check the current fare and schedule with Pakistan Railways or at the station before travelling, rather than assuming either has changed. The same applies to the number of coaches: no coach count was given in the announcements.

The real test of the handover will come over the coming weeks, not on the day of the ceremony. Passengers will judge the new management on the cleanliness of the coaches, the quality of the food in the dining car, whether the train runs on time, and whether the staff on board treat them well.

Governor Hashmi’s remarks at the inauguration pointed in the same direction. He said the provision of quality, safe and affordable transport remained a key government priority, and that stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors could play an important role in improving railway operations. The Awam Express is now the most visible test of that idea on a long-distance passenger route. If the upgraded coaches and the new dining car win passengers over, expect more trains to follow the same path.

FAQs

The Awam Express handover is a small ceremony with a big question behind it: can a private operator run a long-distance Pakistani train better than the department that has run it for decades? The upgraded coaches and the new dining car are a promising start, and the revenue figures give the minister reason to be confident. But the answer will be written by the passengers who board at Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar in the weeks ahead — and by whether they choose to come back.