Pakistan Railways

The North-Western Railway Football Club was founded in the 1880s as representative of the North Western State Railway in football competitions in British India. In its early years, it was operated predominantly by the British railwaymen and officials. The team has been recorded as playing in several football tournaments in the 1890s in Lahore.

At the 1938 Durand Cup, the Lahore-based side finished runner-ups after losing against the South Wales Borderers football team in the final by 0–1.

After the partition of British India in 1947, most of the North Western Railway network was allocated to Pakistan, and the team remained active in the newly formed country. Immediately after, the team began playing in several tournaments across Pakistan.

In the 1954 National Football Championship, the team finished as runner-up after losing to Punjab Blues in the final. In 1956, competing as Railway White, it again placed second, this time against Balochistan. In 1958, the team again lost in the final against Punjab Blues.

In early 1961, the North-Western Railway was renamed as Pakistan Western Railway, and the club name was accordingly changed. A separate side, Pakistan Eastern Railway, represented the railway division in East Pakistan.

Between 1963 and 1966, the team finished runner-up in three consecutive finals, each time against Karachi.

In 1963, the club won its first major honour by lifting the Aga Khan Gold Cup after defeating Dhaka Wanderers in the final.

In 1969, it secured its first National Football Championship title by defeating Karachi.

Following the renaming of Pakistan Western Railway to Pakistan Railways in 1974, three years after the independence of Bangladesh and losing the eastern wing, the club adopted its present name.

In the 1976 National Football Championship, the team lost to Pakistan Airlines in the final. In 1982, it again finished runner-ups after losing to Habib Bank.

In 1984, it won its second National Football Championship, after overcoming WAPDA in the final. In 1989, the team finished runner-ups after losing to Punjab Red.

After the revamp in Pakistani football and the discontinuation of the National Football Championship, the club competed in the second-tier, winning the 2005–06 PFF National League, returning to the top flight.

They were relegated from Pakistan Premier League after two years in the 2007–08 Pakistan Premier League. Chaudhry Muhammad Asghar was Pakistan Railways football coach till that time. The coaching was then passed to Muhammad Rasheed, the ex-national player and Pakistan Railways player.

Railways again qualified to the top-tier by winning their departmental leg of the 2013 PFF League. It remained in the top tier until getting relegated again in the 2014–15 Pakistan Premier League.

Following the domestic football revamp in the country in 2023, departmental clubs including Railways remained competing in the PFF National Challenge Cup.