Jaffar Express cancelled again, stranding hundreds on the Quetta-Peshawar route

Pakistan Railways has called off today's Jaffar Express service between Quetta and Peshawar, leaving hundreds of ticketed passengers scrambling for alternate ways to travel. Railway sources said the Peshawar-bound train will not leave Quetta as scheduled, while the inbound service already en route from Peshawar will be halted at Jacobabad Junction and sent back rather than completing its run to Quetta. Officials cited only "unavoidable reasons" for the cancellation.

The disruption strikes at one of the country's most heavily relied-upon long-distance rail links. The Jaffar Express covers nearly 1,600 kilometers between Quetta and Peshawar, cutting through Sindh and Punjab along the way and stopping at dozens of towns and cities in between. 

Over the past year alone, the Jaffar Express has been suspended on multiple separate occasions, sometimes for a single day and at other times stretching across several consecutive days, with the inbound train repeatedly turned back from Jacobabad rather than completing its journey to Quetta.

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Past disruptions have been tied to a range of causes: security operations in Balochistan, suspected sabotage of rail infrastructure, and heightened protective measures during visits by senior government officials to Quetta.

The most severe disruption came in March 2025, when militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army hijacked the train itself, taking hundreds of passengers hostage in an attack that exposed just how vulnerable the route running through Balochistan's more remote stretches can be.

Pakistan Railways has not said when normal service will resume, and as with several previous suspensions, no firm timeline has been offered to affected passengers. Those holding tickets for today's cancelled departure have been advised to reach out to railway booking offices and inquiry counters for updates on refunds or rebooking options.

Based on how the railway has handled past suspensions, full refunds are typically made available to ticket holders once a cancellation is confirmed, though passengers in more remote towns along the route sometimes report difficulty reaching booking staff quickly enough to sort out alternative travel before plans are disrupted further.