Hi,
I have been trying to contact Pak railway to check about seats/trains availability, timings, etc. from Lahore to Karachi on AC Sleeper (Any decent train service will do). But my email bounced back, the contact number incorrect and the website booking feature does not work.
Is Pak railway still functional?
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
you better find another mode of travel. if you do decide to travel by train, i'm afraid you may regret your decision.
however, there is a reasonably good train service between Karachi and Lahore. the train is called Business Express and it takes 14 hours to do the trip. i believe it costs Rs. 5500 per person.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Sorry but am sking about AC Sleeper. Not interested in any other train service.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Sorry for the wrong title. I meant AC Sleeper, not First Sleeper
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
as far as i know, Business Express is FULLY air-conditioned. they do have sleeper coaches.
Business Express Promo:
exterior of Business Express:
Interior of Business Express:
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Anyways here are the contact numbers of Lahore Railways
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Thanks for the numbers. I already tried those and one Karachi contact number too before asking for help here but none of those numbers are working.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
@Sady
If all you need are the phone numbers of Pakistan railways then its better to call PTCL helpline 1217 or 1236. They will be able to provide you with the current numbers.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
I did not need ONLY phone numbers but ANY info which could allow me to get in touch with Pak railway including social media, contact email address and off course the phone numbers as well as any posters sharing their experience / knowledge about AC Sleeper trains, timings, fare, etc. or the sources of info… Thanks for PTCL numbers. Hope they work.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Would you not be better flying??
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
^^ It’s a leisure trip, not a business one. And flying is boring 
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
I traveled via the business train from Khi - Lhr & then from Lhr - Khi last year. It was a very good experience. The ticket was for PKR 5000 one way per adult. It was the month of Ramazan, they first served iftari, then dinner followed by tea and then sehri. They also provided a small travel kit with tooth paste, tooth brush and a comb in it. Each boogey has its own server. Ours was really nice and we tipped him really well at the end of the journey (optional) All the food was free. Ac's worked really well infact it was extremely cold at night because they weren't turning off the ac's. The train was less than 2 hours late. I will highly recommend it to you.
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Thanks but…
First problem with business train is that one compartment of business train has 6 tiny berths. My brother/father are not in the country to accompany us hence; would prefer some privacy.
Second problem is that Im much taller & and prefer some space whereas business express is congested / less spacious as compared with AC Sleeper. The size could be okay for my mom as she’s 5’3ft. I dont want to feel uncomfortable & suffocated on this 18 hours leisure trip but relax and enjoy the trip. Food / drinks are good attraction but I, specifically, do not eat alot so that is not a preference (More of a juices/snacks person).
Third problem is that business express has 1 toilet per bogey whereas AC Sleepers have en-suites. Neither of us use comfortable using shared loos. So to avoid, I will have to abstain even taking any juices / water for 18 hours even if Im thirsty. That also would turn the leisure trip into a stressful one lol…
Lastly, I have heard that the business train does not have any stops but in a rush to take the travelers to their destination (As the name goes business express).
As I mentioned the main purpose if to enjoy the journey. We wanna take time, enjoy the stops, those vendors that get up on bogeys to sell their interesting stuff such as;
drinks (they used to have the glass bottles stuffed in an iron bucket filled with ice 
)
snacks (bhooni hui dry edibles like daal, salty local chips, tiny spicy samosas & what not…)
paans, sonf, supaarees and some unusual stuff of those small towns on the way…
Im forgetting alot of that stuff which you would wanna buy right away; all of those count as souvenirs from the journey. They keep you dazed for days… as long as you see them in your hand carries/bags. Then smelling the fresh morning / evening / afternoon air of every town where the train stops… It’s quite a different experience trust me. That is where all the fun is travelling by train… having a feel of the local culture of towns on the way. It’s nothing like what business train has to offer. I enjoyed all that as a child & craving for the same experience lately. Even though everything has changed in current Pakistan. Im hoping I can revive the good memories, even if in my own mind, through this train journey.
And to bring back the complete childhood experience, I would also want to travel ‘only’ on the velvety berths of AC Sleepers but guess that would be asking too much in what has become of Pakistan railway now. So all Im wishing for is a AC Sleeper (We always used TEZGAM train as I checked with my father few days ago).
So if I cannot have that care-free, relaxing journey that I crave & have to worry about any of the above issues of a business train then I rather not travel at all. The purpose is not just to get to Karachi & back but to enjoy the journey. Im not sure if you even understand what’s on my mind, heehee. This may sound weird to you what Im saying. Because now nobody has that much free time & these small things dont matter to people anymore. Thankfully, my father understands but he will be retiring next year. But when I say I wanna travel now, that means I wanna travel now. And when I say AC Sleeper, that means AC Sleeper or nothing else 
:pcg:
:roman:
Re: First Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
sady have u tried calling 117??, me and my inlaws just came back from karachi but we had to book our tickets from the station though
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
2 yrs back some of my folks travelled in AC sleeper of some top notch train as per pakistani ranking (sorry i dont remember the name but can confirm from them) and that was truely a nightmare for them. First the travel time was painfully long due to all the delays.. and then a lot of small mishaps. But I understand your POV, so ya keep it going and good luck.
And dont forget to share your experience plus pics. :)
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
@hejsa no, I have not tried calling any new numbers so far because we have some guests over. So only after they leave then we’ll make a plan.
@SID_NY, yeah some not so old videos of AC Sleepers on youtube are very scary :teary1::teary3: But for the love of AC Sleepers :pullhair: , Im trying not to trust my eyes :frusty:
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
*edited
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
AC Sleeper is available in following trains on KHI to LHR route.
Night coach Express (Private under Shalimar Group)
Karachi Express
Tezgam
Khyber Mail
And by the way, Business Express and Karakoram Express doesn't have AC Sleeper.
There are new coaches of AC Sleeper which are really good but there are some old coaches too which are being rotated in Karachi Express & Khyber Mail. So the best bet would be to book your AC Sleeper seats in Night coach express which is private train and they always have new AC Sleeper coach in their rack.
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Here are the pictures of new AC Sleeper coach used in Karachi Express (Pic taken 2 days ago at Karachi Cantt station).
Restored attachments:
Re: AC Sleeper - Lahore to Karachi
Thanks for the pics @Sufi_Bhai,
Look 'OKAY'. Not as horrendous as some other pics and videos on the internet.
Last picture has me confused. Is that some kind of a train 'suite'? An internal door joining two partitions with two berths on each side?
