- 20 new engines to be inducted in Pakistan Railways: Saad
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has said twenty new engines will be inducted in Pakistan Railways to improve its performance.
He was talking to newsmen after inauguration of repaired and refurbished locomotives at Mughalpura in Lahore on Saturday.
He said that the PML(N) government is committed to convert Pakistan Railways into one of the best institutions of the country providing speedy and safe traveling facilities to the masses.
The Minister said black boxes have been installed in the railway engines.
To a question, Khawaja Saad Rafique said work is in progress to construct housing units for Railway employees.
- Shershah Railway Station to become multi-transportation hub
MULTAN: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has approved a proposal to develop Shershah Railway Station in Multan as multi-transportation hub to promote business activities in South Punjab.
Collector, Model Customs Collectorate Multan, Sarfraz Ahmad Waraich told APP here on Friday, that a proposal was sent to chairman FBR to allow loading and unloading of goods containers and their clearance at Shershah Railway Station to facilitate industrialists and firms in South Punjab.
He said that operations of cargo train from Karachi to Shershah Railway Station would not only increase revenue of South Punjab but also provide job opportunities to industry workers.
- New modern train between Islamabad-Karachi to be operated soon: Saad
LAHORE – Pakistan Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has announced to operate a new state of the art superior fast train between Islamabad and Karachi from May of the current year.
Talking to journalist after inaugurating ten new modern power vans at Lahore Railway Station on Tuesday, he said that name, timings and composition of the new train would soon be finalised. He said that the PR was gradually and continuously progressing and induction of new power vans in the system was another step to progress with the efforts of PR workers and administration.
“Only 27 power vans were working when I took charge but now the number of the vans were 74 which will become 84 after March 31 with the induction of more 10 new power vans,” he added. The minister said operation of the power vans was part of the preparation of the upcoming summer season and now the passengers would not be bothered during the hot weather due to non-working of air-conditioners, lights and fans in the trains.
Expressing about the development in the freight operation, he said more than 80 locomotives were operational for freight sector, adding that not more than 7 to 8 locomotives had been working for freight when the Pakistan Muslim League-N government took over the charge. The minister said deduction of five percent was being made from the salaries of each employee for several years on name of development but it was first time the PR had allocated Rs 300 million in the Public Sector Development Programme for the construction of residences of the PR employees.
He said the PR administration had marked land for the construction of residential flats and apartments for the employees as the department could not afford big bungalows for staff while construction would soon be started. He said it was just beginning of colouring of the map and soon more developments would be made for the betterment of the department and its employees.
To a question about the PR police, he said that a summary of Rs one billion for several projects of the up-gradation of the PR police had been sent to the prime minister office for approval from which an amount of Rs 400 million had been sanctioned for equipments and training of the police. The minister stated the PR administration was working for raise in the salaries of the police staff and soon it would be made equal to the salaries of the provincial police.
He said that posts of 20 inspectors and 49 assistant sub-inspectors were being introduced which would be filled through the public service commission so that educated officers could be inducted in the PR police. He added that these officers would be posted in the sensitive police stations.
To another question about Youhanna Abad incident, he appreciated Muslim religious scholars and Christian leaders for their role after the incident and said that the incident was a failed effort to create distance between the followers of both religions. PR Police DIG headquarters Sharaq Jamal and DIG Operations Jawad Ahmad Dogar were also present.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/nationa...ated-soon-saad
PAKISTAN Railways has decided to allow traffic on the 36-km double-track from Habibabad to Bhoe Asal in the Lahore-Okara section with a speed limit of 120 km per hour
After this, the only closed track will be 42-km double-track from Okara Cantt to Habibabad in the Karachi-Shahdrah Section on which 90 percent progress has already been made.
The double-track from Karachi to Shahdrah is expected to be operational by the start of April.
Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Railways Muhammad Javaid Anwar monitored the Lahore-Okara Section of the double-track with the Federal Government Inspector of Railways Mian Muhammad Arshad and General Manager Infrastructure Ghazanfar Abbass including other officers and gave instructions regarding operation of the double-track to the staff.
Workshop: A workshop “Outcome Based Education and Assessment System of Accreditation” was held at University of Engineering and Technology (UET) on Thursday. According to a press release, Prof. Dr. Kai Sang LOCK from Institution of Engineers, Singapore, was the resource person for the workshop organised by Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Prof. Sang narrated the history of Outcome Based Education and said it had been implemented since 1980s with various forms at different levels of education systems from nursery/primary schools to postgraduate level.
- Public-private partnership: Railways earns Rs2.48b from Business Express
LAHORE: The joint venture between Pakistan Railways (PR) and Four Brothers Group for a privately-operated Pak-Business Express is proving to be profitable for PR as the state-owned corporation earned Rs2.48 billion in the first three years of the train’s operations.
The amount PR has earned is in the form of daily rentals, which were initially Rs3.2 million at 88% occupancy before being revised to Rs2.2 million at 65% occupancy ratio.
The management of Business Express, however, claimed that they have not earned substantial profits yet. However, the experience has taught them how to operate as they now gear up for bigger ventures in the future.
“The only thing we earned during this time is a brand name for our product — when anyone talks about public-private partnership in railways, they mean us,” said Pak-Business Express Director Operations Mian Shafqat while talking with The Express Tribune.
Since its inauguration, the venture has received substantial media attention for various reasons including the uneven 88:12 ratio in favour of PR.
The ratio means that PR pockets Rs88 from every Rs100 earned, while Pak-Business Express utilises the rest to meet expenses and generate profit.
On the other hand, PR’s role includes maintaining railway tracks, providing technical manpower to look after the train and fuel that costs Rs0.6 million per day for a round trip.
Realising the burden, the management at Business Express has taken corrective measures. “We realised the contract we signed initially was not providing us a level playing field — someone had to correct it. Thus, we’ve taken appropriate steps to keep this venture alive,” Shafqat added.
The struggle to revise down the occupancy ratio had created a major tussle between both stakeholders, as railways authorities claimed that this matter was not worth putting in the federal cabinet meeting.
However, PR tried to challenge the revised rates in different courts but was not successful. Within this time span, both parties have claimed outstanding dues. Railways is still calculating daily rentals at 88% occupancy, which according to them have crossed Rs1 billion.
On the other side, the Business Express management is claiming Rs160 million in the form of infrastructural development.
Shafqat claims that their maximum train occupancy goes to 62%. “If we talk about passenger ratios of developed economies, no country has reached 100% or even 80%. If the ratio crosses 50%, it means that you have reached the breakeven point,” he said.
“We have established a brand in Pakistan in and, despite the conflict, PR has earned Rs2.48 billion from us in three years,” he said.