Summary Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique chaired a meeting in Lahore on Monday.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has directed the authorities concerned to check black-marketing of tickets.
Presiding over a meeting in Lahore, the minister said that additional police and booking staff would be deployed to facilitate commuters.
The meeting decided to introduce more freight trains.
The meeting was informed that a special operation has been launched to clear encroachments from railways' property.
Over the years, a lack of attention, poor policies, increasing expenditures and poor financial controls, as well as 2010’s devastating floods, have left PR with billions of rupees in deficits.
Now, PML-N led government is trying to restructure the Pakistan Railways.
On July 27, Pakistan Railways slashed fare of all passengers’ trains by over 45 percent except Karakoram Express initially for the period of three months to attract more passengers.
The PR had also received Rs 1.57 billion of funds used in opening of Letter of Credit (LC) for import of 75 locomotives from China as the deal was terminated by the rail authorities, said Khawaja Saad Rafique.
The fares were slashed owing to low occupancy and to competing the road transport because the rail fares were more as compared to the road transport and passengers preferred to travel on later mode. Now the fares of trains became low as compared to the road transports. PR had increased number of freight trains from one to three and it would be five till the end of December.
Efforts were being made to remove the annual deficit of Rs 35 billion till the end of current financial year, Rafique said.
The minister said there was dispute of Rs 3 billion between Punjab government and rail authorities and I thanked to Punjab government for cooperation and payment of Rs.300 million in first tranche Rafique said.
About punctually of arrival and departure, the minister assured that it would be redressed 80 percent during the current financial year and more locomotives had been inducted in operation. There was on freight train in operation when I took this ministry but now it touched to three with the induction of repaired locomotives fleet in the system.
The maintenance cost on each locomotive was US$ 50 which was very low as compared to the international standard. One freight train approximately earn Rs.1.15 billion annually and was the major source of revenue for the authority, minister added.
The management had also decided to run Eid special trains on the religious festivity to facilitate the passengers to visit their natives’ towns to celebrate it with their dear one, he said.
