Sindh's 1,254km ML-2 Rail Network Targeted for Major PPP Upgrade

The Senate Standing Committee on Railways has reviewed a major public private partnership plan to modernise Main Line 2 and associated railway infrastructure across Sindh, with the committee directing the Ministry of Railways to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sindh government at the earliest. The proposed project spans 1,254 kilometres and includes dedicated Kotri to Dadu, Dadu to Larkana, and Hyderabad to Mirpurkhas links, according to reporting dated 25 August 2026.

What ML-2 Actually Is

Main Line 2, also known as the Kotri to Attock railway line, is one of Pakistan Railways' five main lines, running 1,246 kilometres from Kotri Junction in Sindh to Attock City Junction in Punjab, and has been in continuous operation since it opened in 1896, making the core route 130 years old. The line currently serves 92 stations, including Sehwan Sharif, Dadu, Mohenjodaro, Larkana, Shikarpur, and Jacobabad within Sindh, before continuing north through Punjab to Bhakkar, Mianwali, and eventually Attock.

The Scale of the Proposed Upgrade

Pakistan's Railways Minister has previously described ML-2 as a project to be launched at a cost of roughly 2.5 billion dollars, with the National Logistics Corporation involved in arranging financing through banks or funding agencies, and the upgrade specifically intended to give the corridor a new, dedicated track for freight and goods trains alongside other modern facilities. This proposed upgrade sits alongside, but is formally distinct from, Pakistan Railways' ML-1 project, the larger Karachi to Peshawar line, whose own Phase 1, the 480 kilometre Karachi to Rohri section, has separately secured an approved 2 billion dollar financing package from the Asian Development Bank.

Heritage Alongside Modernisation

The Senate committee's review was not focused solely on new infrastructure. Members specifically directed the Railways Minister to conduct a personal site visit to inspect the historic Dadu railway station, built in 1892 and featuring a one kilometre platform, to prevent further deterioration of the structure, reflecting the committee's stated emphasis on preserving the corridor's genuine historical infrastructure even as the broader network is modernised.

The Railway Land Component

The same committee meeting had a significant land management dimension. Officials were directed to reassess commercial rents charged on railway property, accelerate recovery of encroached railway land, and ensure that all future land leases comply strictly with the law. According to figures reported to the committee, 376 acres have been recovered so far against a target exceeding 13,000 acres nationally. This figure sits within a longer, well documented pattern: Pakistan Railways owns a total of 168,858 acres of land across the country, of which roughly 12,468 to 13,972 acres, figures vary slightly by reporting period, remain under encroachment, broken down across the provinces as approximately 5,809 acres in Punjab, 5,948 acres in Sindh, 1,181 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 1,034 acres in Balochistan. Of the total encroached land nationally, categorisation data shows roughly 769 acres classified as commercial, 3,309 acres as residential, and 5,512 acres as agricultural use.

How the Recovery Effort Has Actually Progressed

Pakistan Railways has run its anti-encroachment programme in phases over several years, following directives originally linked to Supreme Court orders, with joint procedure orders issued to all divisional superintendents and legal notices under the Possession Ordinance 1965 giving encroachers 14 days to voluntarily vacate railway land. Reported recovery totals have moved in relatively modest increments over successive campaigns, from roughly 994 to 1,037 acres recovered in various individual reporting periods through 2023, up to a cumulative 2,552 acres recovered over five full financial years according to more recent Ministry figures. Separately, Pakistan Railways has pursued a parallel revenue generating strategy, leasing approximately 14,893 acres of its land to private individuals and government departments under the Pakistan Railway Property and Land Rules 2023, with about 11,074 acres leased to private individuals for agricultural, commercial, and stacking purposes through open competition. All railway land records have reportedly been digitised, geo-referenced, and integrated into a dedicated Land Management and Information System, including a mobile application intended to support real time monitoring and faster decision making on encroachment cases.

What Remains Unconfirmed

The MoU between the Ministry of Railways and the Sindh government has not yet been finalised, meaning the specific financing structure, implementation timeline, and construction schedule for the 1,254 kilometre upgrade remain to be settled. Given the pace of past railway land recovery efforts, where multi year cumulative totals have remained a small fraction of the total encroached acreage nationally, readers should treat the 376 acre recovery figure and the broader 13,000 acre target as an ongoing, long term effort rather than one likely to conclude quickly.

What This Means for Industrial and Commercial Property Along the Corridor

A genuine 1,254 kilometre transport upgrade, if delivered, could meaningfully improve accessibility and logistics across several interior Sindh cities along the Kotri, Dadu, Larkana, Hyderabad, and Mirpurkhas corridor, with plausible knock on effects for industrial land, warehousing, and commercial property demand around stations and freight linked segments of the route. The parallel push to recover and properly lease encroached railway land is directly relevant to anyone currently occupying or leasing property adjacent to the rail corridor, since the stated direction toward strict legal compliance for future leases and reassessed commercial rents suggests existing informal or below market arrangements on railway adjacent land may face increased scrutiny going forward. Businesses and investors evaluating property near stations on this corridor should watch specifically for confirmation of the Sindh government MoU as the next concrete milestone, rather than treating this Senate committee review alone as confirmation that construction is imminent.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia, Kotri-Attock Line, background on ML-2's route, history and stations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotri%E2%80%93Attock_Line
2. Wikipedia, Dadu railway station, Pakistan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadu_railway_station_(Pakistan)
3. Wikipedia, Karachi-Peshawar Line, background on the related ML-1 project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachi%E2%80%93Peshawar_Line
4. Associated Press of Pakistan, "Railways retrieve around 2,552 acres of encroached land in five years": https://www.app.com.pk/national/railways-retrieve-around-2552-acres-of-encroached-land-in-five-years-2/
5. Profit by Pakistan Today, "Railways leases 14,893 acres of land to boost revenue": https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2025/01/08/railways-leases-14893-acres-of-land-to-boost-revenue/