Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

Carrying your cargo: ‘Super Parcel Express’ resumes operations

By Our Correspondent
Published: September 7, 2014

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The express is a cargo train with covered wagons that runs between Karachi City Station and Lahore’s Badami Bagh Railway Station. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD AZEEM/EXPRESS

**

KARACHI: **With the Pakistan Railways gaining momentum after the induction of 45 locomotives, the utility has recently resumed the ‘Super Parcel Express’ cargo service.

The express is a cargo train with covered wagons that runs between Karachi City Station and Lahore’s Badami Bagh Railway Station.
After almost two decades of service, the cargo train’s operations were stopped in June 2011 when the Pakistan Railways was facing a severe crisis in terms of locomotive shortage.

The express started running again on September 2. It is expected to make two trips a week, carrying 23 covered carriages. Each wagon will be loaded with 60 tonnes of cargo from Karachi’s dry port, which will be transported to Lahore. The train departs from the City Station at 11pm on Tuesday and Saturday and reaches its destination in 36 hours.

According to Pakistan Railways divisional commercial officer (DCO) Nasir Nazir, the train will generate revenue worth Rs300 million a year, if operated with the same schedule. However, Pakistan Railways plans to operate it daily if possible.

“If we get more load, we will run it on a daily basis,” said Nazir, adding that the locomotive shortage has been redressed effectively with the induction of 45 Chinese locomotives. He said that they will get nine more engines in a few days from China, bringing the strength to 54.

“Our service is safer, cheaper and quicker compared to trucks,” he said, commenting on why people should opt for railways goods service instead of trucks. The train is charging Rs130,000 for a wagon that carries 60 tonnes load which is cheaper than trucks. “Our goods train takes 24 hours to reach their destinations while the trucks take three days on roads.”

Currently, the major contracts that the utility holds pertain to the transportation of coal, cement and furnace oil to power stations and factories. Pakistan Railways is operating five freight trains from Karachi to different parts of the country on a daily basis. The workers’ unions of the utility have welcomed the move and call it a positive step towards progress and prosperity of workers.

“The management should concentrate on freight service and should bring more freight coaches to get back to its previous position when 15 to 20 freight trains would operate on a daily basis,” said Pakistan Railways Mazdoor Union divisional president Malik Muqadar Zaman.

Zaman said that the Super Parcel Express should run daily. He also suggested that the remaining freight trains, which were closed at the time of crisis, should be resumed. “Railways make money through freight service and if we run more trains we will not only be able to meet our own expenses but will also be able to pay back the loans and buy more locomotives.”
*

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2014.*

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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

Our minister jee is again playing with stats (just like any other Govt of Pakistan or in fact of the world) would do.

"Income" in itsself means nothing. How much "net" profit will PR have this year is the main number we should look for and if Saad Rafique has upped that, we should appreciate and applaud him and if it has gone down, he should take the burn.

You can have 10bn extra income one year but you can still end up losing more than previous year.

and on Chineese engines, I was reading Q & A with the locomotive manufacturer (I'll try to search it) even they said "you get what you pay for". So we should stop going for quantity but go for quality. Instead of 100 crappy engines, we should buy 60 good quality one in same amount of money.

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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

You can't expect details from noon league since the voter that put them in is jaahil and can be bought by qeema paratha, jangla bus etc.

This is the same bunch of nincoomps who boast "accomplishments" for getting IMF loans. Now, if the loans were for dams or other infrastructures then you could tax roads or electricity tax could pay for things, but subsidized jangla bus, paratha, laptops, bikes are a lost cause and a net drain on pakistani economy which is also paid for by people OUTSIDE of punjab.

PS In fact, I was ready an article in dawn that karachi is like 42% of GDP of Pakistan and how a tsunami could just wipe out the city. Now, these same people used to cry when the mayor of karachi mustafa kamal would run infrastructure projects (i.e. mayor's job), but here panchi and co. do the same bhangra for a CM of punjab who acts more like a CM of lahore.

As hassan nisar has said many times that the pakistani qaum deserves what it is getting.

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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

panchhi pai many years ago the name was Super Parcel Express and it ran daily. Only one passenger coach attached to this train. I see many passenger coaches with passengers inside it and I don’t see covered freight wagons? Is this again a promotional news far from the truth?

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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

Do you expect something else considering his history? :)

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Improvement in Railways

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Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique is probably the most agile person in Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet; he is reported to have turned the corner of railways’ faltering financial health through his hard work and imaginative policies. Talking to the APP at the Lahore Railway Headquarters on 31st August, 2014, Railways General Manager (Operations) said that the financial position of Pakistan Railways had improved tremendously after passenger and freight sectors attracted commuters and traders due to several measures taken by the PR administration. It was claimed that all-out efforts were made to rationalise fares, improve the availability of locomotives in the freight sector to ply up to 16 cargo trains in a day, ensure punctuality of passenger trains from 10 percent to 55 percent.

Efforts were also made to raise fuel availability from zero level up to 15 days requirements, streamline train operations, and retrieve several hundred acres of encroached railway land. GM operations attributed the success of attracting passengers to use railways for their travel to the strenuous efforts of the Railways Minister. As cargo trains could generate massive revenues, it was decided to restore freight trains to the extent of two trains daily from Karachi port to upcountry, with hopes of increasing the frequency to **8-10 trains **by the end of the current year. Transport of oil through cargo would fetch Rs 4.4 billion annually while Rs 5 billion could be earned by dispatching export/import containers through freight trains. Two locomotives are expected to be rehabilitated every month while rehabilitation of 27 locomotives is already in progress to induct them into freight operation. Railways has valuable assets worth billions of rupees in the shape of land, most of which is illegally occupied. The administration launched a campaign against illegal occupants and as many as 2,704,750 acres of land has been retrieved so far. Lahore-Karachi double track has been completed; it will be inaugurated anytime soon.

**A snapshot of Railways’ recent achievements confirms a widely held belief that Pakistan Railways is one rare entity which has made a considerable progress over the last one year or so due to the untiring efforts of its Minister to transform its working environment and change the fortunes of this sinking PSE.

** This would appear to be strange in a country where the relevant minister and top officials of a state-owned business organisation just mark time, overburden the entity by recruiting their kith and kins and the enterprise is in a much worse shape when they depart. The case of railways was no different. Pakistan Railways was in a critical stage when the present government took over due to locomotive shortages, a lack of maintenance and motivation, poor infrastructure, corruption, over staffing, encroachment on its lands, fuel shortage etc.

Passengers and freight services declined substantially over the last five years and gross earnings of Pakistan Railways nose-dived from Rs 23.2 billion in 2008-09 to Rs 18.1 billion in 2012-13. With capping of overdraft by government of Pakistan in 2007, finances required for even maintenance were not available. Over-aged infrastructure and rolling stock, increase in fuel prices, rupee depreciation and subsidised railway fares led to an increase in expenditure. A sharp increase in salaries and pensions resulted in diversion of all revenue earnings to this obligatory payment at the cost of operational and maintenance requirements. Ultimately, the financial position became so precarious that Finance Division had to commit itself to bear the expenses of even salaries and pensions till the crisis was over.

One must not lose sight of the fact that Pakistan Railways is no ordinary public sector enterprise. **Its network comprises 7,791 km route, 423 locomotives, 1700 passenger coaches and 16,179 freight wagons **and its efficient functioning could greatly facilitate commerce and trade, reduce transportation costs and promote rural development and natural integration. Railways also provides livelihood to a very large number of people directly and indirectly and is a cheap mode of transportation. The policy approach of the new administration is very positive. It does not believe in downsizing but has concentrated its efforts on upgrading and procuring more locomotives, retrieving its encroached land where shops, markets and plazas can be constructed, ending corruption and increasing efficiency.

The government of Pakistan has also allocated Rs 39.4 billion in PSDP for the financial year 2014-15 for the development projects of Pakistan Railways due probably to the clout of the Railways Minister and his zeal to make a difference. Anybody who has travelled by rail or booked cargo for some upcountry destination recently could vouch for the improvement in the working of railways which is a good omen for the economy of the country and gives a new hope.

However, we would urge upon the government to confine its efforts to the rehabilitation and upgradation of the existing railway infrastructure for the time being rather than announce high cost and more complex projects like connecting Murree and Muzaffarabad with the railways’ main network.

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*Railways to operate 14 special trains on Eid *

Friday, September 26, 2014

*LAHORE: Pakistan Railways will operate 14 Eid Special Trains for the first time in its history from several cities on Eid to facilitate the people.The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Pakistan Railways Minister, Khwaja Saad Rafiq held at the PR headquarters here on Thursday.
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According to the decision, four Eid special trains will be run from Karachi, including one train for Peshawar, one for Lahore, one for Rawalpindi and one for Sargodha; three trains from Lahore, including two for Karachi and one for Narowal; two from Rawalpindi, including one for Lahore and one for Multan while one train each from Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Sargodha and Narowal will be operated during the Eid days.

It was decided to speed up action to recover arrears of Rs1 billion from the administration of Business ExpressTrain. It is worth mentioning that a case was under proceeding in the Lahore High Court against the Business Train

while a reference is also under process against it in National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The PR administration has also decided to reorganise its legal cell so that cases of the department could be affectively proceded.

General Manager Operations PR, Javaid Anwar Boobak; Additional GM Traffic Mahmood Hasan; Chief Marketing Manager,Zubair Shafi Ghauri; Chief Commercial Manager, Khalid Khursheed Kanwar; Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer, Ghulam Mustafa and Director Legal Tahir Pervaiz attended the meeting.

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**All aboard: Two passenger trains to be back on track in October, says Saad RafiqPublished: **

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The minister said Musa Pak Express, with an AC parlour, two AC business and five economy class coaches, would run between Lahore and Multan. PHOTO: PID

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) would resume operations of two passenger trains in October. This will generate a revenue of Rs180 million annually, Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq said on Monday.

He was addressing a press conference at the PR Headquarters.

The minister said Musa Pak Express, with an AC parlour, two AC business and five economy class coaches, would run between Lahore and Multan. Mehran Express would pull nine economy coaches between Mirpur Khas and Karachi, Rafiq said.

He said the trains would transport around 780,000 passengers annually.

He said when he had assumed the ministry, there were only eight locomotives in the freight pool. The number had risen to 35 and it would reach 50 by the end of October, he said.

The minister said the number of operational freight trains would become seven after the induction of new locomotives. Out of 10 NLC locomotives, six had been added to the system, Rafiq said.

He said the PR had resumed Parcel Express in the first week of September. The service was suspended in July 2011. He said oil trains would continue to ferry the fuel during floods.

He said the train service between Sailkot, Wazirabad, Shahdara and Narowal, which had suspended after the floods, had now been restored. The service between Shorkot and Jhang was still suspended, he said.

**The minister said the PR expected to generate revenue of Rs 30 billion this year against the target of Rs 28 billion set by the government.
**
He said the Railways Freight Transport Company would be established to transport coal from Bin Qasim to coal-fired power plants in the Punjab. He said the concession in fare would continue until the end of December this year.

**Rafiq said the PR would start disbursing pensions through a computerised system by the end of November. **He said the management of Business Train had defaulted on Rs 1 billion.

The minister said recruitments in the PR were made on merit, the minister added.

He accused Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek of using derogatory remarks against the government. He requested the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the foul language being used by the two leaders

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Re: Pakistan Railways expects Rs 6 Billion More Income

^^Unless impartial praise comes from traveling public and traders who use railway, self praise is more like self marketing with zero credibility.

[quote]
ensure punctuality of passenger trains from 10 percent to 55 percent.
[/quote]

That is not really an achievement. For many years PR maintained 100% punctuality on the system ran average of 15 freight trains from Karachi port which included at least five oil express trains from RGY yard. Passenger trains ran many fold what Sad Rafiq is running now.

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**I myself is a personal witness .... trains time pr chalne lgi hai ... passengers kafi zyda hogye hai etc

PR ka jo haal Ghulam Bilour ne kia tha .... uske comparison mein kafi bhtar ho gye hae .... no doubt abhi optimal level pr ni phnchi once it was specially in General Ayub period**

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Do you know what was the speed of Tezgam in the 70, 80 and up to early 90's? I still remember the name of driver D'souza, who took over Tezagam from Rohri Station even 1 and 1/2 hours late. Always reached Karachi on time with the speed of 145-150 kmph. Speed of Shalimar was also 125 mph. Which started from Karachi at 6 a.m. and reach Lahore at 10.p.m on same day. Can you tell us what is the average speed of these trains now? If the average speed is half of it and still they are running at 55% punctuality, it is not an achievement at all.

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i heard on the news a couple of days ago that PR is incurring a big loss everyday and by the end of the fiscal year 2014-15, PR will be 500 karoR in red.

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Tezgam roughly take about 18 to 19 hrs from KHI to LHR . Business Express and Karokaram roughly take 17 to 18 hrs on average. May be railway traffic zyda ho gya hai lines pr .... Awam Express and Allama Iqbal ko zyada time lgta hai approx. 22 to 24 hrs..... crossings buht prti hai trains ko raste mein

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Pakistan Railways to restore Musa Pak, Mehran Express trains

By Web Desk
Published: October 9, 2014

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****LAHORE: Pakistan Railways on Thursday decided to restore two trains: Musa Pak Express and Mehran Express, Radio Pakistan](http://www.radio.gov.pk/newsdetail/68282/2) reported.

The restoration was decided during a high level meeting chaired by Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.

During the meeting, a revised timetable was also endorsed that will be implemented from October 15.

The new timetable states that new stops for several trains have been approved to facilitate passengers.

Musa Pak Express will run between Lahore and Multan. Mehran Express will run between Khairpur and Karachi.

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Isnt Saad Rafique the one whos electoral victory is disputed by the PTI ? Wouldn't it be a shame if he were replaced or forced to quit... Rigging or no, the mans doing a good job. let him work. Even the people who didnt vote for him should recognize that and let the issue go.

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^^ Dont want to make this thread into PML-N Vs PTI but rigging allegation is just drama by DHA elite of NA-125. Vote Difference b/w Saad Rafique and Hamid Khan of PTI is approx. 40,000. How ridiculous … itni **Andher **mchi hui thi Lahore jese city mein ke 40,000 votes ki rigging hohye wo bhi siraf aik constituency mein ?

NA-125 Election 2013 Results Details, Candidates, Constituency, Pakistan Election 2013

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You are absolutely right why dont you share the actual news

Commission finds irregularities in NA-125 election - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

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So you are trying to say that even if rigging has happened let it be ignored and move on?

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**Irregularities not mean Rigging

Irregularities caused by the Kaam Chor and Inept staff of Election Commission … What Saad Rafique has to do with this ?
**

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Haha keep living in your delusional world

This noob is the biggest rigger ever no way he can win from Lahore