Commendable achievement by COETRE at Pak Austria Fachhochschule
We are pleased to share a significant institutional achievement of the Center of Excellence in Transportation/Railway Engineering (COETRE) at PAF-IAST.
On Thursday 16th April 2026, the Honorable Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa approved the pre-feasibility study for the Peshawar Valley Railway Project (PVRP)—a project of strategic importance for regional connectivity and sustainable rail based transportation development. The unique study awarded to COETRE, envisages the operation of sub urban trains, in the form of Diesel Multiple Units (DMU’s), by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the existing 62 kilometer corridor of Pakistan Railways between Jehangira – Nowshera – Peshawar railway stations.
This would mark a new chapter in productive use of Pakistan Railways decades old infrastructure wherein a provincial government will own, operate and maintain rolling stock and run trains on Pakistan Railways (Federal Government) infrastructure under a Track Access Framework.
The initiative would prove to be a welcome relief to the sub urban commuters transiting between the Peshawar metropolitan area and towns located in the suburbs. The sub urban trains would be speedy, safe and environmentally friend and result in reducing transit times and also take off unruly road traffic from the GT road and the motorway.
This development reflects the growing confidence of government in the expertise available at its academic institutions. The granting of the pioneering study to COETRE is an acknowledgement of its professional and technical expertise in the field of transportation and railways. The Center has already been designated as a Transaction Advisor to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for transportation and railway-related projects, and is also extending advisory support to the Government of Punjab in similar domains.
This achievement underscores PAF-IAST’s continued commitment to contributing meaningful, research-driven solutions to Pakistan’s infrastructure and development landscape.
