Before the Bullet Train

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: He has probably spent a lifetime listening to the sound of trains.  Long before digital control rooms, automated signals and computerised switching became the global standard, railway workers like him stood under the scorching sun and winter fog, ensuring that every train reached the correct track.

Decades later, one elderly man is still doing the same job by hand.

The photograph is not merely about age. It is about time.

Pakistan Railways was once among the proudest institutions of the region. The railway network, laid during the colonial era, connected distant towns, carried passengers and freight across the country, and became the backbone of commerce. Stations were centres of life, while the railways represented reliability and progress.

Today, much of that legacy struggles under the weight of ageing infrastructure, mounting financial losses, deferred maintenance and decades of competing priorities. Yet the greatest burden often falls on the shoulders of workers who continue to keep the system moving with experience rather than technology.

The old man in this picture is manually operating a railway switch, a task that determines which track a train will follow. It is work that demands concentration and physical effort. It also raises an uncomfortable question. In an age when rail systems across much of the world rely on automated point machines, why are ageing hands still performing such critical work?

His weathered face tells a story that official reports cannot. His bent back reflects years of service. His hands carry the memory of thousands of trains that have safely passed because someone remained at his post.

Modernisation is measured not only by ambitious announcements or future plans but also by the condition of the systems already serving millions every day. Progress begins with maintaining what exists before imagining what comes next.

Perhaps that is why this photograph feels so powerful. The railway tracks stretch into the distance, symbolising movement and possibility. Yet the man standing between them reminds us that development is not defined by the speed of tomorrow’s trains alone.

It is also measured by whether those who have spent a lifetime keeping the nation moving are given the tools, safety and dignity they deserve today.

Photo Credit: APP