Railways revenue rises to Rs115bn as minister sets Rs160bn target

Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said on Monday that Pakistan Railways revenue had risen from Rs88 billion to Rs115 billion and that the ministry was targeting Rs160 billion for the year. He was speaking at Rawalpindi railway station at a ceremony to induct 11 new coaches into the Awam Express.

Abbasi set 31 December as the deadline for resolving the railway's problems, saying holidays would remain cancelled until then and that all officers and staff would stay in the field.

The Awam Express was acquired by AA Enterprises in the privatisation process. Abbasi congratulated the firm and said the train had earlier been in a condition he described as one nobody wanted to look at, and had now been fully refurbished. He said the government would make the train a success and that attempts to fail it would not work.

He said the Lahore railway workshop, closed for 15 years, had been restored, and that five workshops that repair engines and wheels and had been shut since 2008 were working again.

Abbasi also disclosed that 20 of the railway's 40 trains do not have complete brakes. He said efforts would be made to settle the railway's problems by 31 December.

Salaries of railway employees have been regularised, the sanitation system is being upgraded and free WiFi has been provided at 60 stations, he said. All parts of the stations are monitored by CCTV cameras, and action will be taken against those involved in stealing railway parts, he added.

The Punjab government has given a Rs10 billion package for the railways, for which Abbasi thanked Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. A cooperation agreement has also been reached with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Funds have been released by Punjab to restore Lahore and Rawalpindi stations in Victorian style, and Rohri Junction has been improved, he said.

Abbasi said the railway hospital is being handed over to the private sector, but railway employees will continue to receive free treatment. The ML-1 project will be completed with the support of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, he said, and the prime minister will inaugurate the Thar coal project.

Abbasi said the National Logistics Cell was supporting the railways, and warned that the system would be badly affected if the NLC withdrew its engines.