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The new government has been elected. There were many votes for Imran Khan (his PTI supporters won 101 of 266 seats), but the new government now appears to be a coalition of the economically liberal, conservative Pakistan Muslim League N (75 seats) and the Pakistan People’s Party (54 seats). Of course there are rumblings here and there, but the reluctance or even abstinence of our major media houses to report on Pakistan alone means that things are peaceful. On the one hand I am tired of all the voices with all their security warnings and the sceptics who are constantly talking about the dangers of travelling to this country. On the other hand, the desire for an SP/S and an SG/S in front of charter trains is asked of me again and again. It is well known that I would also like to tackle such a project sooner rather than later. However, I cannot justify this investment if the trip to Pakistan is not booked sufficiently, regardless of whether or not a religious lunatic detonates a bomb in a mosque in the last village in Baluchestan during Friday prayers. Unfortunately, this will likely to happen from time to time. I just wonder why people are still promenading in Nice or going to the Christmas market in Berlin. Fanatics have made it there too and killed completely innocent people. If something like this happens in Pakistan, the newspapers are full of it, and people with their raised index finger can once again say: ‘I have always warned you about this’. In the meantime, most of the victims of premature demise continue to die of diseases or road traffic accidents. The dangers of terrorism are simply constantly overstated because they attract the most attention.
Only half of the required registrations have been received for the planned trip, so it can neither be confirmed nor can the prospects for one of the fantastic 2’B locomotives of the SP/S class be described as rosy. The number of expressions of interest is high enough to organise and run the trip, but expressing interest alone is not enough. Surprisingly, the number of registrations for the tour extension to Baluchistan to the phenomenal Bolan Pass from Sibi to Quetta is already sufficient, although we can only offer the scheduled diesel trains there (for the time being). There have already been terrorist attacks on these trains. There is another tour extension that cannot be found on the Internet, also in the troubled province, which also does not suffer from a lack of participants. It has nothing to do with railways, but does involve vessels, and is only suitable for interested photographers who want to run the risk of getting a rusty nail trough their sole. Participation must be confirmed by the Baluchistan government. Anyone who lives in the world of investigative journalism will be refused entry. This province really doesn’t need bad press. It already has enough because of religious extremists.
Ultimately, interesting trips will all depend on whether enough interested people can be found who are also willing to spend a serious dime. Every photo event, no matter where in the world, can only take place if there is an audience for it. Before almost everything becomes unaffordable and/or uninteresting due to modern fuss along the railway line, new lockdowns or CO2 related price inflation make travelling generally impossible for the majority, the window of opportunity that exist should be used. Standard gauge in Romania, real steam in China, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Paraguay, Cuba, Nepal … how many once fantastic opportunities have we seen disappear in recent years? Pakistan is still open to us, and if we can establish these journeys there, the chances are good that the window of opportunity will open even wider instead of closing.
I would be delighted if more bookings for this fantastic country were received soon. I have to fly to Pakistan at least once more before the trip and spend a few days, maybe even weeks, at the workshop in Lahore to supervise the work on the locomotives. They simply need it. There are two videos of a test run earlier this year where everyone is very happy that the steam locomotive is moving, but they don’t notice the leaks under the smokebox.
Pakistan is no ordinary holiday destination where you can just tell people about the weather and the food. It’s a country you can really tell the unsuspecting, fearful and then amazed crowd when you get back home. Not only will you bring back a series of beautiful railway photos, you will have immersed yourself in a completely different culture. Without exaggeration the trip of a railway lifetime!
The description of the journey can be found on the website https://www.farrail.com
