PR to outsource 11 passenger trains
ISLAMABAD:
Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi has said significant efforts are now underway to modernize the Pakistan Railways with upgrading of tracks and digitalization of various processes.
During an informal interaction with journalists on Thursday, he said no major investment had been made in the railways for the past eight years but now the situation had changed.
He said ticketing at the railways has already been digitized, with passengers able to purchase tickets through 16 banks as well as Easypaisa and Ufone Bank.
He said ticket checkers will also be equipped with handheld machines to curb fare evasion, which currently causes losses of around Rs1 billion annually.
“The Ministry of Railways has been converted into an e-office, with plans for digital inspections of operations. We will generate revenue through freight operations and use it to subsidize passenger services,” he added.
Outlining infrastructure projects, Abbasi said a 480-kilometre track from Rohri to Karachi was being planned, with Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials expected to extend cooperation.
He said the ministry is also engaging with the Sindh government on the RohriSukkur track, and with the Balochistan government for work between Sheikh Zayed and Kuchlak.
“The Punjab government, meanwhile, will build the LahoreRawalpindi track and install free Wi-Fi at 40 railway stations. Additionally, Punjab’s Tourism Department will adopt the Taxila, Rawalpindi, and Lahore stations.”
Abbasi said work was underway on the remaining portions of ML-1, while development on ML-3 from Nokundi to Rohri would also begin soon.
He added that 11 trains would be outsourced, with bidding to start from Rs3.07 billion.
On international connectivity, Abbasi revealed that a project is being planned to link Kohat, Kharlachi, and Mazar-i-Sharif with Uzbekistan, with both Pakistan and Uzbekistan allocating $5 million each for feasibility studies.
Separately, Abbasi said the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) in Lahore would start kidney transplants from October this year.