Jaffar Express

Jaffar Express

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
First service	16 April 2003
Current operator(s)	Pakistan Railways
Route
Start	Quetta
Stops	29 hours, 10 minutes
End	Rawalpindi
Distance travelled	1,458 kilometres (906 mi)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	39UP (Quetta→Rawalpindi) 40DN (Rawalpindi→Quetta)
On-board services
Class(es)	AC Business Economy
Sleeping arrangements	Available
Catering facilities	Available
Technical
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Track owner(s)	Pakistan Railways
Route map Jaffar Express route map

Jaffar Express (Urdu: جعفر ایکسپریس‎) is a passenger train operated daily by Pakistan Railways between Quetta and Rawalpindi.^[1] The trip takes approximately 29 hours, 10 minutes to cover a published distance of 1,458 kilometres (906 mi), traveling along a stretch of the Rohri–Chaman Railway Line and Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line.

History

The Jaffar Express is named after Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali, who was a prominent Baloch tribal leader, active member of the Pakistan Movement, and a close friend of the Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He was the uncle of former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. The train was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on 16 April 2003 with Chinese rakes.^[2]

Route

• Quetta–Rohri Junction via Rohri–Chaman Railway Line
• Rohri Junction–Rawalpindi via Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line

Station stops

Equipment

The train has both AC Business and economy accommodations.

Incidents

• 16 August 2013: The Rawalpindi bound Jaffar Express was attacked with rockets in Dozan (near Machh) in Balochistan’s Bolan District, killing 2 and injuring 10 people. The banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility of the attack.^[4]

• 21 October 2013: The Quetta bound Jaffar Express was hit with a bomb planted on the railway track in Naseerabad District, killing 6 people and injuring 17 people. No one has yet claimed responsibility.^[5]

• 17 November 2015: The Quetta bound Jaffar Express derailed at Aab-e-Gum, Balochistan. The Aab-e-Gum derailment killed 20 and injured 96 people.

References