The city of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

is a major

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

hub of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The Karachi

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

and

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

are major gateways to Pakistan. The Karachi Railway stations transports the major part of Pakistan's trade with other countries.

Local transport

Metrobuses which run on 6 different routes and have a combined length of 150 km are the most modern, fastest and cheapest mode of transport for Karachiites. Old style Minibuses, coaches and large buses are also still used to commute across the city. Rickshaws, Qingqi and taxis cater to the travelling needs of upper middle class, while radio cabs or white cabs are frequently used by upper class travelers. This makes it possible for people without their own vehicles to access remote areas of the city.

Metrobus

The Pakistani Government is developing the Karachi Metrobus project, which is a 6-line bus rapid transit system. The Metrobus project was inaugurated by then-Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

on 25 February 2016. Sharif said the "project will be more beautiful than Lahore Metro Bus". Green Line became operational on 25 December 2021. Orange Line became operational on 10 September 2022. Red Line is underconstruction and is scheduled to complete by 2024.

Karachi Circular Railway

Karachi Circular Railway Karachi Circular Railway (abbreviated as KCR) (, Sindhi language, Sindhi: ڪراچي سرڪيولر ريلوي) is a partially active regional public transport, public transit system in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, which serves the Karachi metropo ...

is a partially active regional public transit system in Karachi, which serves the Karachi metropolitan area. KCR was fully operational between 1969 and 1999. Since 2001, restoration of the railway and restarting the system had been sought. In November 2020, the KCR partially revived operations. KCR was included in CPEC by

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

and construction started in 2022. Existing 43 km KCR track and stations would be completely rebuilt into world class

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system with

environment friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that mar ...

electric trains. The route would not be changed however many underpasses and bridges would be built along the route to eliminate 22-level crossings. New KCR would be similar to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

's Orange Train. New KCR would have joint stations with Karachi Metrobus at points of intersection. Project would be operational by 2024. With its hub at Karachi City station on I. I. Chundrigar Road, KCR will be a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

system that connects the city centre with several industrial, commercial and residential districts within the city.

Peoples Bus service

In 2022, provincial government launched Peoples Bus Service having fleet size of 100+ which run on 12 different routes on nominal fare. The buses are air-conditioned, have wifi, have priority seeting for disabled and elderly and are wheelchair accessible. Red buses are for general public. Pink buses are for women only. White buses are environment friendly electric buses having designated charging points.

Tramway service

An iconic tramway service was started in 1884 by the British in Karachi. The service was run on multiple routes by Mohamedali Tramways Company between 1947 and 1975. In 1975 trams closed due to unknown reason. However, the revival of tramway service is proposed by Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Ali. Turkey has offered assistance in the revival and launching modern tramway service in Karachi.

Auto Rickshaws

A motorized three-wheeler (pictured) that seats two passengers generally used for short distances. In addition there are around 50,000 six-seater rickshaws operating in the city. In 2019, a distance of six kilometers should not cost more than Rs10 according to the government’s tariff.

Old-style Buses

The people of Karachi use

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

es,

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and large

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es which are beautified with cultural art. They are often cramped and filled to the brim. They are often operated by reckless drivers who do not follow the rules of the road, endangering many. In 2024, Provincial Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the relocation of bus terminals out of Karachi to improve the traffic situation in Karachi. He also announced the launch of free shuttle service. The service will be operational from 14 August.

Car Taxi services

Companies like

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...

and Careem allow potential passengers to order a car to carry them to any destination for an agreed fare.''The News'' June 25, 2019
/ref>

Bus Ride-sharing Services

These services include

SWVL Swvl Holdings Corp. is an Dubai-based provider of intercity, intracity, B2B and B2G transportation products and services. Swvl operates in 135 cities in 20 countries across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The company went public in March ...

Rail transport

Railways

Karachi is linked by rail to the rest of the country by the

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

. The Karachi City railway station and Karachi Cantonment railway station are the city's two major railway stations. The railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country.

Streets, motorways and highways

Highways

N-5 National Highway

The N-5 National Highway is the longest national highway in

and serves as an important north–south road artery which extends from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province to Torkham in the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the ...

(FATA)

N-25 National Highway

The N-25 National Highway or RCD Highway connects Karachi with Hub, an industrial city in Balochistan and Quetta, the capital of Balochistan and onwards to Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. It also connects

with Makran Coastal Highway (N-10) and Motorway M-7. The RCD Highway was constructed under a treaty between

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

to promote economic cooperation.

N-110 National Highway

The N-110 National Highway connects Gharo to the town of Keti Bunder in

Thatta District Thatta District (, ) is located in the southern area, locally called ''Laar'', of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropolis of Makli. In 2013, several talukas were separated to form the new Suj ...

province of Pakistan. Its total length is 90 km.

Sindh Coastal Highway

The Sindh Coastal Highway connects

with coastal cities of Sindh. It starts from N5 between Dhabeji and Gharo and ends near Keti Bunder.

Motorway

Motorway (M-9)

The M-9 Motorway, also called Super Highway begins north of Karachi at the end of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, near junction of Karachi Northern Bypass (also known as M10). It is connected with the Karachi Northern Bypass with a trumpet interchange. Then it continues out of the city. From there it continues on a northeast track and forms a junction with the N5 via a link road. Once out of Karachi it enters the desert of Thar. The motorway ends outside of

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, in the suburban town of Kotri with a cloverleaf interchange. From there it merges onto the N5.

M-10 motorway

M-10 motorway or Karachi Northern Bypass (M10) begins north of Karachi at the end of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, near the junction of the M9. It then continues north for a few kilometers before turning west, where it forms an interchange with the N25. After this interchange it eventually turns south back towards Karachi and merges onto the KPT Flyover at

Karachi Port The Port of Karachi (, ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water Port, seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karac ...

Expressway

Lyari Expressway

Lyari Expressway is a highway along the

Lyari River Lyari River () is a small ephemeral stream that flows through the Pakistani megacity of Karachi from north east to the center and drains into the Arabian Sea at the Manora, Karachi, Manora channel. It is one of the two rivers of Karachi, the other ...

in Karachi,

connecting the Port of Karachi with M9 Motorway. Lyari Expressway's North bound section is recently opened for traffic while the South bound corridor was completed and inaugurated for traffic in 2008. This toll highway is designed to relieve congestion in the city of Karachi. It is a 16.5 km expressway that consist of four lanes on both sides, with two interchanges, five overpasses and five underpasses. Moreover, two lanes each are constructed on banks of the

. The expressway has

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenan ...

s at four locations.

Malir Expressway

Malir Expressway is currently a 38 km underconstruction expressway starting from Hino-Chowk and ending near Kathore on the Superhighway (M-9) along the Malir River. The expressway would serve as the Southern alternative route for carrying traffic of the port and industrial areas to main highways.

Mauripur Expressway

Mauripur Expressway is a proposed expressway along Mauripur Road.

Waterways

Two ferries operate between Keamari and Manora Island named after Arfa Karim and Afza Altaf daily. Besides these, hundreds of boats operate between Kemari and Manora daily. Karachi-Mumbai Ferry Service operated until 1965. The ferry service played an important role of transporting Muslim refugees from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

while bringing Hindu and Sikh refugees to India.

Pipelines

White Oil Pipeline

The White Oil Pipeline (White Oil Pipeline Project (WOP)) carries imported oil from Port Qasim to Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) at Mehmood Kot, Muzaffargarh,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pak-Arab Refinery's oil pipeline operations
/ref>

Sui Gas Pipeline

The Sui Gas Pipeline carries natural gas from Sui gas fields in Sui,

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

Ports and harbours

The largest shipping ports in Pakistan are the

Port of Karachi The Port of Karachi (, ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karachi H ...

and the nearby Port Qasim. These seaports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan, but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at the

Port of Karachi

The

's largest and busiest

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum). The port is located between the towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the heart of old Karachi, the main business district, and several industrial areas. The geographic position of Karachi places the port close to major shipping routes such as the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

. The administration of the port is carried out by the

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

which was established in the nineteenth century.

Port Qasim

The Port Muhammad Bin Qasim is a port in Karachi,

on the coastline of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

. It was constructed in the late 1970s to relieve congestion at

. The port was developed close to the

Pakistan Steel Mills The Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, colloquially referred to as ''Pak Steel'', is a Pakistani state-owned company that produces long-rolled steel and heavy metal products in the country. Headquartered in Karachi, Sindh, the PSMC is currently ...

complex near the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

delta.

Air transport

The

Jinnah International Airport Jinnah International Airport () , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017–2018. Located in Karachi, the largest city a ...

of Karachi is the largest and busiest airport of the country. It handles 10 million passengers a year. The airport also receives the largest number of foreign airlines, a total of 27 airlines fly to Jinnah International predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia. All of Pakistan's airlines use Karachi as their primary hub including

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

and

airblue Airblue Limited (stylized as airblue) is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the ground floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in Islamabad, Pakistan. Airblue operates scheduled domestic and international flights, t ...

References

{{Karachi topics