PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has accorded approval to the launching of the historic Steam Safari Train service to boost tourism in the province.
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Secretary Sports, Tourism and Culture Department Abid Majeed while giving details said that under the project, the steam safari train would chug on two rail routes to take tourists and passengers to the two historical destinations.
He said that on one route, the steam safari will take tourists and passengers from Peshawar to Attock Khurd while on the other route it will take tourists from the provincial capital to the historic archeological sites in Takhtbhai
The work on the two rail routes, he added, would be carried out by the newly-established Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority in collaboration with the Pakistan Railways.
The secretary said that tangible steps were being taken for the promotion of heritage tourism in the province to create employment opportunities for the youth on one hand and generate revenue on the other.
The Khyber Steam Safari to Landikotal was one of the main tourist attractions in the province and ex-Fata for foreign and domestic tourists for decades.
However, it was stopped many years back and the track was never used since then. It could not be revived in last many years due to terrorism in the region.
Later, the Tourism Department launched steam safari train to Attock Khurd, located in Attock district of the Punjab province.
Attock Khurd houses the historical Attock Fort built by the Mughal King Akbar in 1581. Bahram ki Baradari is another Mughal-era monument situated at the ridge of mountains on the southern side of the Grand Trunk Road near Attock Khurd.
Currently two bridges on the track in Khyber remained destroyed and authorities will have to reconstruct them before the revival of the steam safari to Landikotal. Because of these reasons, the safari steam is now being introduced to Attock and Takhtbhai.
According to official, the Peshawar to Attock Khurd trip’s distance is 184 kilometers from both sides and one side travel take around 90 minutes. The second route round trip is around 162 kilometres.
Abid Majeed said that a unique opportunity was being provided to the tourists to avail an outing and also apprise them of the rich heritage and tourist spots of the province.
He said that the activity was aimed at reviving the train trips to historical sites such as Attock Khurd, Attock Bridge, Attock Fort, Indus River, Takhtbhai Buddhist archaeological site and raising awareness about tourism among the people and building a baseline for the domestic tourism.
This will also strengthen religious tourism and strengthen inter-faith cohesion, the official added.
Through this service, he believed, the picnickers would know about the rich history, heritage, culture and tourist places as the train would pass through various railway stations including Nasirpur, Pabbi, Nowshera, Khushal Kot, Akora Khattak, Jehangira, Indus River and Attock Bridge.
The official added that as part of the joyride, the tourists would be amused with live instrumental music on the joyful excursion. Besides traditional rabab-mangay, games and traditional foods, a number of fun-filled recreational activities and competitions like kite flying, camel ride, tug-of-war, uphill race, archery and taking selfies would also be arranged at the river bank.
He said that the steam safari train tour would be a source of enjoyment and learning experience for tourists and passengers as well.
