Pakistan Railways has restored the Mohenjo Daro Express nearly six months after the service was suspended due to insufficient revenue, marking a win for passengers and residents along the route who had campaigned persistently for its return. The Mohenjo Daro Express restored 2026 service resumed operations from Rohri station on Sunday, departing with six coaches and carrying several hundred passengers on its inaugural return journey.
The train reached Larkana the same afternoon, completing its first run since being taken off the schedule earlier this year. The suspension had drawn criticism from local communities who depend on the route for affordable travel between Sindh’s interior towns, and its restoration comes after months of sustained public pressure on Pakistan Railways to reconsider the decision.
A Campaign-Driven Comeback
The train’s return followed a sustained campaign by passengers and residents along the route, who organized rallies and repeatedly petitioned railway authorities to reverse the suspension. Local traders, students, and daily commuters had all voiced concerns that losing the service cut off an affordable and reliable transport option in a region where alternative travel options are often more expensive or less convenient.
When the train finally pulled back into service, the response from the local community was immediate and emotional. Crowds gathered to welcome the train with rose petals scattered along the platform, while Station Master Ayaz Abbasi joined in the celebrations marking the route’s revival. Videos and photos of the celebratory welcome circulated widely on social media, reflecting how significant the train’s return was to residents along the corridor.
What the Restoration Means Going Forward
Pakistan Railways has not detailed the specific financial or operational changes that made restoring the Mohenjo Daro Express viable after its earlier suspension over insufficient revenue. However, railway officials have indicated that ridership and revenue performance on the route will continue to be monitored closely to ensure the service remains sustainable in the long run.
The restoration comes at the same time Pakistan Railways has been rolling out upgrades to other passenger trains, including a recently relaunched Karakoram Express from Lahore featuring refurbished coaches. Together, the two developments suggest a railway authority attempting to balance network expansion and route restoration with broader efforts to modernize existing services and win back passenger confidence.
For now, residents along the Rohri-Larkana corridor are simply celebrating having their train back. Local community leaders have thanked Pakistan Railways for responding to their sustained advocacy, while also urging the authority to ensure the service is maintained consistently going forward rather than facing another suspension down the line.
The Mohenjo Daro Express takes its name from the ancient Indus Valley archaeological site located near the route, and the train has long served as an important, affordable link for communities in the region who rely on rail for both routine travel and connections to larger transport hubs. Its suspension earlier this year had been felt acutely by students commuting for exams, traders moving goods between towns, and families visiting relatives along the corridor, all of whom had to seek costlier alternatives during the months the service was offline.
Railway officials say they hope the emotional public response to the train’s return underscores the value residents place on maintaining rail connectivity in less commercially lucrative but socially important routes, and that this sentiment will factor into future decisions about which services to preserve even when short-term revenue figures look challenging.
For more on related developments, see our coverage of the upgraded Karakoram Express from Lahore.