Sialkot - Transport

Transport

Sialkot International Airport is the first-ever private-sector airport of Pakistan managed by the Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) consortium. It is near Sambrial and is noted for having the longest runway in Pakistan. Direct flights are available from Sialkot International Airport to Karachi, Islamabad, Sharjah, London, Muscat, Kuwait, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh. Pakistan International Airlines has plans to start non-stop flights from Sialkot to Manchester and Barcellona. Hajj flights started in 2009. Emirates was expected to start flights in mid 2011 to Dubai. Airblue will operate on domestic routes to Islamabad, Multan and Karachi in mid 2011.

A small Sialkot Cantonment Airport, located in the Sialkot Cantonment, is used by the aviation wing of the Pakistan Army. This airport has been used as a public airport by Pakistan International Airlines for operating a helicopter service from Sialkot to Islamabad in 1995-1996.

Sialkot Dry Port carries the honor of being the first-ever private-sector dry port in Asia. It was established in 1986 near Sambrial, about 20 km from Sialkot city under the control of the Sialkot Dry Port Trust.

Sialkot is served by Pakistan Railways through the Sialkot Junction. Sialkot used to be a junction in the British era with trains leaving for Jammu and Gurdaspur. Plans are under consideration to open the border for an international train between Sialkot and Jammu. Express trains to and from Narowal, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur and Karachi are available daily. The station is in the center of the city. Other suburban train stations are Ugoki and Sambrial.

Sialkot is about two hours from Lahore and four hours from Islamabad. It is linked with the National Highway N-5 through Gujranwala and Wazirabad. A dual carriage-way is available between Sialkot and Wazirabad. A new bridge on the Chenab river, the Shahbazpur bridge, is under construction in the north-east of Gujrat. Once completed, it will connect Sialkot to N-5 at Gujrat. The Sialkot Lahore Motorway (M-11) is also under construction. All the bus and commuter coach stations are on the Jail Road. A bus service operated by Daewoo Express is available from Sialkot to Larkana, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan.

Recently, public transport was launched in Sialkot on one route which circles the city. The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) has signed an MOU with American bus company FOTON to provide air-conditioned local transport to Sialkot with CNG fuel. However, the main mode of transport in the city is the auto-rickshaw. Although no proper taxi service exists in the city, there are many rent-a-car outlets which provides vehicles with drivers.