Islamabad, Pakistan: A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was held on Wednesday to review the restructuring of Pakistan Railways.
Talking to the participants of the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the railway system is the backbone of any country’s economy; for the country’s economic and industrial development, there is a need to rebuild the railway infrastructure across the country on a sustainable basis; developing the railways on a modern basis for regional trade and connectivity is an important part of the national policy. The Prime Minister directed the Railways to formulate a strategy to expand its network to increase trade links with Central Asian countries and to connect Gwadar to the Pakistan Railways network without delay.
Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi briefed the Prime Minister on the ongoing reforms in Pakistan Railways. The meeting was informed that there is immense potential for further investment in Pakistan Railways; modern information desks are being set up at major and important railway stations; the sanitation system has been outsourced at the railway stations of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan; Railways and provincial food authorities are working together to monitor the food being served in trains and railway stations; long-closed services have been resumed for the convenience of the public; Bolan Mail has recently been started on a daily service basis while Dera Ghazi Khan and Khushal Khan Khattak Express have also been restored.
The meeting was further informed that the concrete sleeper factories of the railways in Sukkur, Khanewal and Kohat are being outsourced; Railway hospitals, schools, colleges and rest houses in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan and Sukkur are being outsourced on revenue sharing basis; Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore is being auctioned where there is all the capacity to establish a five-star hotel; Digitization work is being done rapidly to modernize the railways; The restructuring of the IT Directorate of the Railways is in full swing; Free Wi-Fi services are being provided in trains; The Rabita mobile phone application is also being modernized, under which train tickets can be booked; 155 railway stations are being converted to solar energy, which will save the government several million rupees; 17,101 posts have been eliminated under the rightsizing policy, while another 5,695 posts will be eliminated in the future; Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Services, Rail Cop, Pakistan Railways Freight Transport Company and Project Implementation Unit have been abolished; Railway land worth Rs. 10 billion has been acquired.
The meeting was informed that in collaboration with the Punjab government, work is being done on high-speed train service between Lahore and Rawalpindi, upgradation of Lahore and Rawalpindi stations and suburban train services on eight branch lines of the railway in Punjab; a green belt will be created on both sides of the railway line from Shahdara Bagh to Kot Lakhpat, while fruit trees will be planted on both sides of the main lines with the cooperation of the Punjab Forest Department; Sariab-Kachlak and Quetta-Chaman railway lines sections will be upgraded in collaboration with the Balochistan government.
The Prime Minister praised Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi for the pace of ongoing reforms and new projects in Pakistan Railways. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi, Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Tauqir Shah, Minister of State for Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, and senior government officials concerned.
