Pakistan Railways crisis: 50 passenger trains closed

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

The problem is the high number of people employed with no trains active

Can you believe a company that has not made a dime in profit , maintaining its 90,000 employment force and expecting Pakistani Government to bail them out? Its ridiculous


And its not like in Musharraf's time , care was not taken this organization even made profit during Musharraf's time and plans were in place so that every year

Pakistan would indigenous produce 10 locomotives , and also repair 10-20 locomotives

This was done not 20 years ago just 2-3 years ago .... brand new engines were imported in and factories were setup for repair of engines


But Railway - workers have found that if they show up to work or don't do any work they will still get paid by the next government and that has to stop. How can that stop when Pink slips are handed out in company it will force the donkeys to start working.

If Engines are not being cared for , I am sorry but are there no departments meant for evaluation and care of locomotives , start a criminal investigation. If someone did not appoint people to such roles then start criminal investigation on these head of departments for neglect

Every 3-4 years coming begging government for bail out is none sense

a) People use rail ways fact of life
b) People say every time they come to purchase tickets they can't because ppl are charging 100 rupees more for booking tickets
c) People say even after delays they come to trains as its a cheap mode of travel

So business is there - then why is Pakistan Railways in Loss??

 

[EurofighterIN]

Cash-starved Pakistan Railways terminates 75 train services

* Only one-day fuel is left in state-owned organisation’s stores

KARACHI: Pakistan Railways (PR) has terminated 75 train services whereas 28 more will likely to meet same fate, making it worst scenario for rail passengers.

PR has already been on the verge of financial collapse, while this move will further amplify their problems.

A PR officer on the condition of anonymity told PPI that earlier, the department had 260 train services - 220 passengers and 40 goods trains- which used to cater to the needs of thousands of commuters every day.

However, from 2008 to 2010, 75 train services were terminated, while 28 others will soon be ceased. Thereafter, only 157 train services will cover a population of 180 million that will further add to the already helpless passengers.

On the other hand, sources say that only one day of fuel is left in the oil stores of PR. Usually, fuel supply for five days is maintained by the national organisation. When fuel for two or three days is left the department purchases more oil from PSO but no such effort has been done this time around.

Experts believe that even a day’s irregularity will cause immense nuisance to thousands of passengers throughout the country. PR Workers Union Chairman Manzoor Ahmed Razi told PPI that the reduction of train services would add further load to the already overloaded trains as the department would be forced to add additional bogies to adjust the traffic of passengers.

It may be mentioned here that normally a locomotive consists of six traction motors while the PR is operating them with only three or four motors, therefore, they breakdown midway through their journey. Adding further bogies will add more load to locomotive engines, resulting in more mid-journey breakdowns.

20,000 employees awaiting salaries: As the cash-strapped Pakistan Railways is up against a new problem almost every day. The salaries of more than 20,000 B tour employees are pending, causing indignation among them whereas 0.1 million ex-employees are also awaiting pensions.

As per details, retirement dues, including gratuity, provident fund and others of 1500 retired officials are also pending, causing great concern to the ex-employees, particularly after looking at the state of affairs of the department.

An ex-employee, on the condition of anonymity, told PPI, ”Already it has been six month since I retired and after looking at the state of affairs of Pakistan Railways, it is hard to imagine that retired employees will get there funds soon.”

Chairman PR Workers’ Union Manzoor Ahmed Razi has demanded of the Finance Division General Headquarters to immediately release the salaries and allowances of present and ex-employees. ppi

Home | Karachi

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Pakistan Railways is an absolute disaster.

my uncle is a grade 21 officer in the Railcop division. His hair is graying, he's on anti-depressants now.


it needs to be privatized.......some of the capital needs to be liquidated. They have a cash flow problem, they also face circular debt, it's mismanaged, it's over-staffed like crazy, inefficient, many of the locomotives are antiques


Pakistan Railways as an organization is much more succesful in Saudi Arabia than it is in its own country of origin.


PIA and Railways need to be privatized........nationally owned enterprises are almost always bound to f*ck up, especially in a country like Pakistan. I even think civilian-run (non-military) enterprises at H.I.T. also need to be privatized to become more efficient

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Bilour is a real dick.. thts all what ive got to say abt tht a...le.

 

[EurofighterIN]

Looks like it's on the verge of going bust

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

there is ABSOLUTELY no reason why a country with population 187 million (latest number as per CIA factbook) has problems with its passenger railways

people travel village to village, province to province......people are going, people are travelling. There's a huge domestic market.


as is the case with the entire country, it is mismanaged from executive and grass-roots level.


we need to induct modern and energy efficient locomotives and do away with those heaps of metal junk which we call passenger trains.......that of course takes handsome funding, but surely with some re-structuring and some loans (loans, by the way are repaid --they are not 'aid') and with a proper business plan they can make it work and it can be a lucrative business.

once the economy picks up again this should be emphasized a lot more

---------- Post added at 06:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 AM ----------

Looks like it's on the verge of going bust

it's not far from edge of the cliff, but out of necessity it won't collapse or "go bust" as you put it

it is where it is due mostly in part to gross negligence, corruption and general incompetence/mismanagement (as i highlighted in my last couple posts)

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Looks like it's on the verge of going bust

Things never go completely bust in Pakistan and i mean never ...

This country is running thanks to God only... if u know what i mean.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Things never go completely bust in Pakistan and i mean never ...

This country is running thanks to God only... if u know what i mean.

we function despite the government....not because of it!!!

 

[Novice09]

Mismanagement... This is the only thing due to which Pakistan Railways is in such a deep trouble... I visited the webpage of Pakistan railways... Pakistan Railways - Achievements and here are some of my findings...

A) On going Projects

1. Doubling of Track from Lodhran to Khanewal (121 KMS)

at the end of the paragraph they have written -"In the first phase, Doubling of Track from Lodhran to Khanewal via Multan 121 KM was opened for traffic on 16/03/2007 at an estimated cost of Rs.--- million."...

--- million... how much is that?

(2) Doubling of Track on Khanewal-Raiwind Section (246 KMS)

The work on remaining 127 KM section is in progress and expected to be completed by 30/06/2011.

above line proves the frequency of information update...

And if you go and see there marketing page Pakistan Railways - Marketing and you feel that every thing is good with Pakistan Railways...

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

their website is garbage too; don't even bother

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

During Musharif's time most corporations were forced to update their IT departments and provide information online

Before that there was no website even

 

[Jango]

WTF??

90000 employees , you have got to be joking !!!

This organization needs a major overhaul, the locomotive factory in Islamabad and Wah i think, should produce and give quality maintenance, employees need to be downsized, the heads should be capable persons, and not people like Bashir Ahmed Bilour who come in only for the sake of completing the ANP quota. A major re think needs to be devised. Get some private and advisory companies for help in tackling this issue.

---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

WTF??

90000 employees , you have got to be joking !!!

This organization needs a major overhaul, the locomotive factory in Islamabad and Wah i think, should produce and give quality maintenance, employees need to be downsized, the heads should be capable persons, and not people like Bashir Ahmed Bilour who come in only for the sake of completing the ANP quota. A major re think needs to be devised. Get some private and advisory companies for help in tackling this issue.

 

[karan.1970]

we function despite the government....not because of it!!!

Goes for India too..

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Goes for India too..

i'll confess, i stole that line from an indian on this forum....

 

[iPhone]

Its not matter of being educated , just by looking at the figure of 90,000 employees !!! You know where the problem lies

Are people pushing the railway trains 100 employees pushing trains that they need 90,000 employees !!

I don't know but 90,000 employee for the entire of Railway of Pakistan doesn't seem like a lot. Think about all the big station, Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jehlum, Faisalabad etc how big are these stations and the manpower they require. Then you got hundreds of smaller stations spread out across Pakistan that require employees.

I think it's the mismanagement and more importantly incompetence and corruption that is causing problems. Corruption in the higher authorties ranks i.e. purchasing bad locomotives for cheaper prices and pocketing the rest, not effective maintaince given to the engines. Accepting bribes, gratuties, favors etc for hiring incompetent technicians, managers and clerks.

I traveled from Rawalpindi to Lahore via train two years ago and one of the lights in my car wasn't working properly. Two techncians boarded the train from Jehlum station, on the task of fixing the light, and were unable to do so until we reached Lahore. I'm like, sir kiya baat hai aik bulb nehi fix ho raha aap say? they go, oh nehi jii, yeh taar bilkul kharab hai, chootay stations say nehi milay gi, lahore station say hi fix ho gi ab.