Shorkot Cantonment Junction railway station
Shorkot Cantonment Junction Railway Station شورکوٹ کینٹ جنکشن ریلوے اسٹیشن | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°47′17″N 72°15′00″E / 30.788°N 72.250°E | |||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Ministry of Railways | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lines | Khanewal–Wazirabad Branch Line Shorkot–Lalamusa Branch Line Shorkot–Sheikhupura Branch Line | |||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Available | |||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Available | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | SKO | |||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Shorkot Cantonment Junction Railway Station (Urdu and Punjabi: شورکوٹ کینٹ جنکشن ریلوے اسٹیشن) is located in the Shorkot Cantonment area of Shorkot, Pakistan, in the Punjab province.[1] A unique fact about this railway station is that its platform number 1 is in the Jhang district, while platforms 2-5 lie in the Toba Tek Singh district
History
Shorkot Cantonment Railway Station is located on Khanewal-Warzirabad Branch Line, originally known as Wazirabad-Multan Railway under the North Western State Railway. A survey for a railway line began in 1892. The Wazirabad–Lyallpur began construction in 1894 and opened in 1896. The Lyallpur–Multan section began construction the following year and opened in 1899. The survey was conducted by Paget Patrick Dease, executive engineer from the Public Works Department (PWD). The Wazirabad-Lyallpur State Railway section was under construction in 1894 with Henry Herbert Gahan, PWD, as Superintendent of Works.
The railway station was built 1899 for the purpose of splitting the three branch lines, which were the Shorkot-Lalamusa Branch Line, Shorkot-Sheikhpura Branch Line and Khanewal-Wazirabad Branch Line itself. It is considered to be one of biggest junctions of Pakistan Railways.
In its glory days, the Shorkot Cantonment Railway station was one of the busiest railway stations of Pakistan Railways. It was the terminal station for many services, and was also used for freight working and shunting of coaches. Initially, the station had a massive freight yard beyond platform number 5, but due to dwindling Pakistan Railways freight operation, the yard is now reduced to platform 5 and the freight yard has been abandoned and buried.
Only one service originates from this railway station, Ravi Express, which runs towards lahore and is the only train on the Shorkot–Sheikhupura Branch Line.
The Shorkot Cantonment is considered to be a part of the Jhang district. By the book, only its main bazaar and some residential colonies fall in Jhang district, while the Shorkot Rafiqui Airbase and several residential colonies are part of Toba Tek Singh district.
The railway line at the Shorkot Cantonment serves as a demarcation line between the two districts, where platform 1 is in Jhang district, while platforms 2-4 are part of the Toba Tek Singh district[2]
Terminated Services
Waris Shah Fast Passenger (207-Up / 208-Dn)
Waris Shah Passenger was one of oldest trains that ran on Shorkot-Sheikhupura Branch Line until Lahore Junction. The service was introduced in 1990 and was named after the famous poet Waris Shah. Warris Shah was a passenger train with many stops, unlike the Ravi Express. The service ran until 2019 and was terminated by Pakistan Railways due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2025, service has not resumed. It was also one of the last remaining services that operated on this route.
Sultan Bahu Passenger (323-Up/ 324-Dn)
Sultan Bahu was a morning service that used to connect passengers from the Shorkot-Sheikhupura Branch Line to Lahore Junction. Sultan Bahu Passenger was named after the famous poet Sultan Bahu. Sultan Bahu Passenger was terminated in 2008 due to lack of locomotives.[3]
Badar Express (111-Up / 112-Dn)
Badar Express was started by Pakistan Railways in 1988. It was a premium service between Lahore and Shorkot. Unlike Warris Shah Fast and Ravi Express, Badar Express used the Wazirabad-Khanewal Branch Line and the Sangla Hill-Shahdra Branch Line. Badar Express used to serve Faislabad and take passengers to Lahore. Badar Express also used to take a second trip only to Faisalabad with the service name being "Ghouri Express". The train was successful and ran until 2014. Currently, Badar Express still runs between Faisalabad and Lahore, but does not use Shorkot Cantonment as its point of origin.
Shorkot Passenger (239-UP/240-DN)
Shorkot Passenger was the only train that ran between Shorkot and Sargodha. This service was terminated in 2008 due to lack of locomotives and coaches, which were burned in the aftermath of the assassination of Benair Bhutto.
Platforms
Shorkot has five available platforms for the operation of different services. Platforms 1 and 2 are mostly used for Up and Down trains, while 3 and 4 are used for originating and terminating services. Platforms 3 and 4 has the facility of watering trains. Platform 5 is no longer in use due to many services being terminated in this section.
Loco shed
Being a freight hub and a terminal for many services in the past, Shorkot Cantonment has the facility of loco shed and a turn table. At present, only two lines of loco shed are in working condition, and only locomotives from the Ravi Express rest here before continuing their journey towards Lahore.
See also
References
- ^ Owais Mughal (2004). "Pakistan Railway Stations". IRFCA. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Saeed, Tariq (2016-06-09). "Shorkot: one step in Toba, the other in Jhang". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
- ^ "11 trains suspend operation". Dawn. 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2026-02-15.