Jaffar Express at Night: Chasing the GEU-20 Through Rahim Yar Khan | Pakistan Railways
Chasing the GEU-20 Through Rahim Yar Khan
There is a moment every railfan in Pakistan knows by heart: the distant glow on the horizon, the low rumble building through the rails, and then a wall of light as the locomotive's high-beam cuts the night open. On a recent night at Rahim Yar Khan Railway Station, that moment belonged to the Jaffar Express — rolling in behind GEU-20 locomotive No. 4564, right on our camera.
▶Watch: Jaffar Express at Rahim Yar Khan
1 The Train: Why the Jaffar Express Is a Legend
Few train names carry as much weight in Pakistan as the Jaffar Express. Running between Quetta and Peshawar, it stitches together two provincial capitals across some of the most dramatic railway terrain in South Asia — from the high passes of Balochistan, down through the plains of Punjab, and up toward the frontier. For generations of travellers, students, soldiers, and traders, "the Jaffar" has simply been the way to cross the country.
Unlike the daylight sprinters that grab the headlines, the Jaffar Express is a traveller's train. It runs long, it runs overnight across much of its route, and it carries the full theatre of Pakistani rail life: families spreading dinner on berths, chai vendors working the aisles at every major halt, and the slow rocking rhythm that only an overnight express can give you. When it pulls into a station after midnight, the whole platform seems to hold its breath for a minute.
2 The Machine: GEU-20 No. 4564
Up front on this run was GEU-20 locomotive No. 4564 — one of Pakistan Railways' hard-working General Electric Universal series diesels. The GEU fleet forms the backbone of the railway's motive power, trusted with everything from heavy freight to premier passenger turns. Railfans know the type instantly: the tall hood, the throaty turbocharged growl, and a high-beam headlight that genuinely feels like it could light up the next district.
Watching a GEU-20 arrive at night is a reminder of what diesel traction does best. There is no drama of steam, no silence of electric — just relentless, honest pulling power, announced minutes before arrival by a sound you feel in your chest before you hear it.
3 The Station: Rahim Yar Khan After Dark
Rahim Yar Khan sits on Pakistan Railways' main Karachi–Peshawar artery in the heart of South Punjab — a city most travellers pass through in the dark without ever really seeing. But for railway people, its station is a proper night halt: long platforms, the smell of coal dust and jasmine mixing in the cool air, and a constant procession of up and down expresses threading through.
At night the station belongs to the through trains. The Jaffar Express doesn't linger long — a quick exchange of passengers and parcels, the guard's green flag, and it's gone, its tail lamp shrinking into the dark toward the next halt. If you ever want to understand the romance people attach to Pakistani railways, stand on that platform at 2 a.m. and just watch.
Our footage from that night tells the whole story in under a minute. First the beam — impossibly bright, bouncing off the rails long before the locomotive itself appears. Then the GEU-20 emerges, horn sounding, coaches rattling past in a blur of lit windows. The platform lamps catch the green-and-cream livery for a split second per coach. And then, almost too soon, the red tail lamp is all that's left, swaying gently into the southern night.
It is the kind of clip you watch twice: once for the train, and once for the feeling.
4 Riding the Night Trains: A Traveller's Notes
- Book a berth, not just a seat. On overnight runs like the Jaffar's, an AC sleeper berth turns a long night into genuine rest. Lower berths go first — reserve early.
- Pack for the platform, not the train. Night halts can be cool even in summer. A light shawl and closed shoes make midnight tea runs far more pleasant.
- Keep the camera ready at the window. The best railway photography in Pakistan happens after dark — headlight beams, lit platforms, and long exposures of passing expresses.
- Respect the railway staff. Night crews work the hardest shifts on the network. A salaam to the guard and driver goes a long way.
- Travel light, travel alert. Keep valuables close on overnight journeys, the way seasoned Pakistani rail travellers have always done.
If this footage gave you goosebumps, you're our kind of traveller. We film Pakistan's railways the way they deserve — real stations, real locomotives, no staging. Follow the journey: new railway videos drop on our Facebook page and Smart Earth YouTube channel every single day.
From Quetta's mountain passes to Peshawar's frontier lights — the Jaffar Express keeps rolling, and we'll keep filming. Which Pakistani train should we chase next? 🚆
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