Islamabad/Lahore:
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways was informed on Tuesday that a delegation of Chinese experts should visit Pakistan at the end of February, and the financial plan for the main line (ML -1) project would be completed. Then the work on this project is started immediately after bids.
The secretary, the Ministry of Railway, gave details of the proposed 1,726 kilometers of railway line from Peshawar to Karachi, with a total cost estimated at $ 6.8 billion.
Currently, 34 trains work on the route and when ML-1 When ML-1 is completed, 120 trains are expected to run. The project will be implemented in two phases – phase one from Karachi to Multan and Phase Two from Multan to Peshawar – with a Chinese delegation scheduled to visit Pakistan in late February.
In addition, the secretary noted that the railways have 83 rest houses, 10 of which are out of service. According to committee chairman Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, rest houses in Lahore are used by Karachi officers and those who stay at these facilities often pay out of their own pockets.
Committee member Syed Wasim Hussain emphasized that questions should only be raised during the agenda and said, “There is no advantage in questioning after the agenda has been completed”.
He further added that the agenda should include points from all committee members, noting that “having two or three points from a single individual on the agenda is excessive”.
Meanwhile, the secretary announced that “13 trains have been outsourced,” a decision that has improved the quality of service, with revenue from outsourced trains rising from RS7 billion to RS11 billion. “Until the payment for seven days has been made, we will not run the train.”
Trade shows
An increase in prices of oil products has hit train passengers hard as Pakistan Railways has again raised passenger train prices by 5%.
According to a notification issued by the railway authorities, the ticket price will come into force from February 5. The climb is valid across all ticket classes as well as to salon services and extends to all outsourced trains.
The message has also been sent to all operational bosses (divisional pendants) by Lahore, Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta Divisions for Information and Implementation.
It also instructs PR’s IT Director to secure implementation for pre -order and instructs DSS to use the updated ticket table at all stations and reservation offices.
“To ensure smooth compliance, all booking and reservation offices are requested as well as station staff to immediately adopt these updated prices. Any discrepancies noted by station/commercial staff must be reported to the Office of Chief Marketing Manager and IT Director through the person concerned Division’s Commercial Officer (DCO) within seven days.
Upgrades and ML-1 plans
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways considered the directly needed modernization of railways.
As the whole world is increasingly embracing electronic rail systems, the Rail Secretary announced that a new “contact application” has been developed. This app allows passengers to book seats and access additional travel information and when asked about the development costs, the secretary stated that “no expenses were incurred”.
There are plans to connect all coaches with the contact app within five to six months. In a nod to the past, railway men remembered that an electric train service was launched in 1979 between Lahore and Khanewal on a number of 286 kilometers. After the closure of the electric train system, wires and poles were allegedly stolen.
