AZADPAKISTAN2009
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Pakistan Railways Taking it to the Next Level
By AzadPakistan2009
Pakistan and ongoing challenges
Railways , and economic prosperity of a country are tied closely. This is the reason Europe and Americas emphasized on construction of railways in late 1800’s. A country which has a strong Railways, ensures cheap transport of good across the country’s borders and also a cheap mode for transport for many travelers who don’t have vast amount of fortune to spend on travel. Pakistani Railways is in dire need of modernization beyond the 1970’s standard which have normally been seen as the bench marks for a long period of Pakistan a Railways. Revival of Railways involves, having abundance of Engines, Modern standard cabins , Fantastic Stations and the land around the tracks properly maintain by Cities and Provinces to attract more tourist.
The first important element of Railways revival is Engines, the heart of Operation. An Engine is the most important element for any successful Railways operation. You need a unit which can serve you for long time, can be easily maintained with existing man power. And in case you need to make repairs local repair facilities are able to perform necessary upgrades to keep Engines active. An area where Pakistan has traditionally suffered is the ordering of new Engines, typically the process of ordering new Engines is only initiated after the demand peaks and Railways is faced with cancellation of routes. An advance projection which forces you to buy ahead of time does not exists. The delay can be avoided with a yearly plan to order new engines every year. This will ensure that Customers are never complaining about an Engine which has failed to work, or railway trains facing long delays over 24-48 hours delays.
The second most important element for trains are the cabins , where Passengers sit. While the world has moved on to build world class passenger cabins, Pakistani Train’s cabins have shown no new ingenuity over decades. Many world Train operations have Cabins made with Glass exterior for 360 dynamic views, some have luxury seats. Some have drop down comfortable benches and amenities similar to First Class plane travel. Pakistan has not taken an initiative to introduce revolutionary design changes in Cabin design. The Economic cabins are just mediocre metal seats with hard surface, it really does not scream customer service. The Family cabins which are air-conditioned with small TV screen are perhaps some what reasonable; however more can be done to improve these segments. Pakistan is a agricultural country, yet we can’t produce a luxury seat or beds or comforters for Railways. Often the Cabins also suffer from food trays laying around for pickup by employees of railways once the train stops however such processes , spread unnecessary aroma in the cabins and impact the cleanliness aspect of the train which is a turn off for many Western Travelers. It is surprising that the trains don’t have dedicated Crew who continuously clean up the trays and keep aisles fresh. The crew could have their own dedicated cabins to collect and store returned trays. Pakistani Cabins also lack a special segment for 360 views where passengers can go and sit and view full panoramic view of Pakistan’s Landscape.
The Train stations are also something which needs to be improved. Pakistani Train stations many of them have foundations built back in 1800’s when British rule existed over parts of Pakistan. These stations have remained active with no major upgrade and continue to be used daily. After almost 100 years of service these stations need major uplift in visual appearance and Pakistan has no shortage of raw material. Pakistan locally produces marble tiles but for National Asset like Pakistan Railways we do not see any Marble work being used on platforms and stations. Logic would have stated since the Marble segment is owned by state of Pakistan and Railways is also a state entity, that Marble installation would have been “Free” for usage by Railways. Pakistan could easily upgrade all stations with brand new Marble covering. This approach would give all station an Airport feel and Marble is very easy to clean and looks fresh 24/7. Secondly it is also an opportunity to showcase artistic mosaic artwork by local designers based on glass and other elements. Simply just accepting the 1800’s stations is tragedy of great magnitude. Marble stations always present a shinning exterior which is great for presentation and also showcases Pakistani Marble brilliantly. The stations are also a great chance for local construction companies to show what they can design as a reusable template for majority of the smaller stations.
Img Below : Pakistani Marble yet not used for State owned Railways
The Land around the stations , is also a major concern in term of overall revenue for Railways and Pakistan. Majority of the land which is owned by Pakistan’s railways is not maintained. There is no planning for tree plantation, there is no planning for excavation and creation of permanent canals for water storage. Often the surrounding land is filled with dirt, and extracted land material and garbage. The beautification of the land , around the train track is vital in order to present the best image of Pakistan to outside world. The beautiful Scenes of Villages are made less attracted by the immediate land near the railway tracks. The garbage and filth ruins various scenic views. Also local cities do not enforce, cleanup of the streets adjacent to the tracks , so we often see homes with ugly graffiti and often the land beside the train tracks are used for garbage dumping. If long term strategy exists over a 10 year period, the land connected to the railways can be developed so that there is a clear view for travelers who travel. This clearer and clearer view will enhance Train Tourist ridership. Also the various illegal settlements beside the train trains will have to be cleared out and instead trees should be planted to give travelers a great experience.
The train track surroundings need to be maintained, there is no shortage of rocks in Pakistan , we have the largest Mountain/Rock formations in Baluchistan area
The disconnect on maintaining Grade A standard for tracks lies with Station Authority and cities where the tracks run thru. There is no reason why the fencing should not exist specially since we have steels mills in Pakistan which creates steels artifacts. The Steel barriers also ensure no accidents happen due to animals. It is important that the management actually visit other nations and see their Railway Network and Operation and develop similar plans to improve quality of track and beautify stations and tracks.
The Station crew can also benefit from introduction of professional Uniform
Since Pakistan is a Textile producing nation it is unsure why we can't have top grade Uniform for Train Station staff. While the airline staff wears fantastic Uniform , the railways has not introduced a similar Professional structure for their staff. To stand out we need top notch Uniform introduced
In conclusion , while Pakistan Railways had taken great strides in PTI term , more can be done to enhance the service to make Pakistan Top 20 Train experiences in world.
@Slav Defence or @webaster or @Horus or @WAJsal or @Irfan Baloch
By AzadPakistan2009
Pakistan and ongoing challenges
Railways , and economic prosperity of a country are tied closely. This is the reason Europe and Americas emphasized on construction of railways in late 1800’s. A country which has a strong Railways, ensures cheap transport of good across the country’s borders and also a cheap mode for transport for many travelers who don’t have vast amount of fortune to spend on travel. Pakistani Railways is in dire need of modernization beyond the 1970’s standard which have normally been seen as the bench marks for a long period of Pakistan a Railways. Revival of Railways involves, having abundance of Engines, Modern standard cabins , Fantastic Stations and the land around the tracks properly maintain by Cities and Provinces to attract more tourist.
The first important element of Railways revival is Engines, the heart of Operation. An Engine is the most important element for any successful Railways operation. You need a unit which can serve you for long time, can be easily maintained with existing man power. And in case you need to make repairs local repair facilities are able to perform necessary upgrades to keep Engines active. An area where Pakistan has traditionally suffered is the ordering of new Engines, typically the process of ordering new Engines is only initiated after the demand peaks and Railways is faced with cancellation of routes. An advance projection which forces you to buy ahead of time does not exists. The delay can be avoided with a yearly plan to order new engines every year. This will ensure that Customers are never complaining about an Engine which has failed to work, or railway trains facing long delays over 24-48 hours delays.
The second most important element for trains are the cabins , where Passengers sit. While the world has moved on to build world class passenger cabins, Pakistani Train’s cabins have shown no new ingenuity over decades. Many world Train operations have Cabins made with Glass exterior for 360 dynamic views, some have luxury seats. Some have drop down comfortable benches and amenities similar to First Class plane travel. Pakistan has not taken an initiative to introduce revolutionary design changes in Cabin design. The Economic cabins are just mediocre metal seats with hard surface, it really does not scream customer service. The Family cabins which are air-conditioned with small TV screen are perhaps some what reasonable; however more can be done to improve these segments. Pakistan is a agricultural country, yet we can’t produce a luxury seat or beds or comforters for Railways. Often the Cabins also suffer from food trays laying around for pickup by employees of railways once the train stops however such processes , spread unnecessary aroma in the cabins and impact the cleanliness aspect of the train which is a turn off for many Western Travelers. It is surprising that the trains don’t have dedicated Crew who continuously clean up the trays and keep aisles fresh. The crew could have their own dedicated cabins to collect and store returned trays. Pakistani Cabins also lack a special segment for 360 views where passengers can go and sit and view full panoramic view of Pakistan’s Landscape.
The Train stations are also something which needs to be improved. Pakistani Train stations many of them have foundations built back in 1800’s when British rule existed over parts of Pakistan. These stations have remained active with no major upgrade and continue to be used daily. After almost 100 years of service these stations need major uplift in visual appearance and Pakistan has no shortage of raw material. Pakistan locally produces marble tiles but for National Asset like Pakistan Railways we do not see any Marble work being used on platforms and stations. Logic would have stated since the Marble segment is owned by state of Pakistan and Railways is also a state entity, that Marble installation would have been “Free” for usage by Railways. Pakistan could easily upgrade all stations with brand new Marble covering. This approach would give all station an Airport feel and Marble is very easy to clean and looks fresh 24/7. Secondly it is also an opportunity to showcase artistic mosaic artwork by local designers based on glass and other elements. Simply just accepting the 1800’s stations is tragedy of great magnitude. Marble stations always present a shinning exterior which is great for presentation and also showcases Pakistani Marble brilliantly. The stations are also a great chance for local construction companies to show what they can design as a reusable template for majority of the smaller stations.
Img Below : Pakistani Marble yet not used for State owned Railways
The Land around the stations , is also a major concern in term of overall revenue for Railways and Pakistan. Majority of the land which is owned by Pakistan’s railways is not maintained. There is no planning for tree plantation, there is no planning for excavation and creation of permanent canals for water storage. Often the surrounding land is filled with dirt, and extracted land material and garbage. The beautification of the land , around the train track is vital in order to present the best image of Pakistan to outside world. The beautiful Scenes of Villages are made less attracted by the immediate land near the railway tracks. The garbage and filth ruins various scenic views. Also local cities do not enforce, cleanup of the streets adjacent to the tracks , so we often see homes with ugly graffiti and often the land beside the train tracks are used for garbage dumping. If long term strategy exists over a 10 year period, the land connected to the railways can be developed so that there is a clear view for travelers who travel. This clearer and clearer view will enhance Train Tourist ridership. Also the various illegal settlements beside the train trains will have to be cleared out and instead trees should be planted to give travelers a great experience.
The train track surroundings need to be maintained, there is no shortage of rocks in Pakistan , we have the largest Mountain/Rock formations in Baluchistan area
The disconnect on maintaining Grade A standard for tracks lies with Station Authority and cities where the tracks run thru. There is no reason why the fencing should not exist specially since we have steels mills in Pakistan which creates steels artifacts. The Steel barriers also ensure no accidents happen due to animals. It is important that the management actually visit other nations and see their Railway Network and Operation and develop similar plans to improve quality of track and beautify stations and tracks.
The Station crew can also benefit from introduction of professional Uniform
Since Pakistan is a Textile producing nation it is unsure why we can't have top grade Uniform for Train Station staff. While the airline staff wears fantastic Uniform , the railways has not introduced a similar Professional structure for their staff. To stand out we need top notch Uniform introduced
In conclusion , while Pakistan Railways had taken great strides in PTI term , more can be done to enhance the service to make Pakistan Top 20 Train experiences in world.
@Slav Defence or @webaster or @Horus or @WAJsal or @Irfan Baloch
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