WEB DESK: Making rounds in news after being taken hostage by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Tuesday evening, Jaffar Express has been the answer for travellers reaching Peshawar from Quetta, and otherwise. Operating daily from 9am the train takes around 34 hours to make the journey and was dubbed as a symbol of unity touching upon major points in the country. The train has been suspended for three days following the attack as security forces carry our rescue operation. With 150 hostages rescued, the forces have killed 27 militants.
According to a website that caters to railways of both India and Pakistan, the national carrier’s Jaffar Express has been named after Jaffar Khan Jamali who was from All India Muslim League and was a close aide of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The train began its operations in 2004, and used to run between Quetta and Rawalpindi.
In 2017, however, the Pakistan Railways inaugurated a new train service from Peshawar to Quetta, aiming to facilitate passengers, particularly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This new service was the same Jaffar Express but now it had an added route.
Jaffar Express: terrorists using passengers as human shield
The train would depart daily from Peshawar at 5:30 am, reaching Quetta by 2 pm the following day. It termed it a symbol of national unity, passing through major cities including Rohri, Sukkur, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. In 2017 the fares were set at Rs1,870 for economy class, Rs4,470 for standard class, and Rs4,970 for business class, with a capacity of 800 passengers per trip.
In 2025, following are the rates for Jaffar Express from Quetta to Peshawar Cantt.
The train that departs from Quetta to terminate at Peshawar Cantt has 41 stops in between which are:
With over 400 passengers on board, in nine bogies, Jaffar Express came under attack in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass.
Information desk set up at Rawalpindi station
To facilitate the relatives of the Jaffar Express attack passengers, railway authorities have set up an information desk at the Rawalpindi Railway station. A special desk has been set up at Rawalpindi station for information on Jaffar Express passengers, says Railways spokesperson.
The passengers can obtain travel details from the information desk, which remains in contact with Peshawar and Quetta stations, according to the DS Railway.