Weather affects train schedule

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways on Friday announced inordinate delay in departure of some trains from Lahore Railway Station and Faisalabad in the wake of delayed arrival of the trains due to rain and fog in different parts of the country.

According to a Lahore Division railway spokesperson, Karakoram Express (42 down) departed for Karachi from Lahore Railways Station at 11pm instead of 4pm while Karachi Express (16 down) departed at 1am instead of 5pm on Friday. Similarly, Business Express (304 down) from Lahore, Millat Express (18 down) from Faisalabad and Shah Hussain Express (44 down) from Lahore to Karachi via Faisalabad were delayed because of the weather conditions. The spokesperson said that according to the security protocol, train drivers reduced the speed of trains because of rain and fog which caused delays in arrival and subsequent departure of the trains.

Cold spell continues: Cold wave persisted in the city as the mercury fell down further while Met office predicted the similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours.

Officials said shallow westerly wave was present over northern parts of the country. They predicted mainly cold and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country. However, rain (with snowfall over the hills) was expected at isolated places in Kalat, Quetta and Zhob divisions. Foggy conditions are likely in plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh during night and morning hours.

Rainfall was recorded at several cities including Murree, Islamabad, Garidupatta, Muzaffarabad and Kakul while snowfall was recorded at Murree.

Friday’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded at Kalam and Bagrote where mercury dropped down to -12°C while in Lahore it was 3.8°C and maximum was 18.3°C.