Management responsible for railways deficit: Senate body

Pakistan Railways should be empowered to decide about the fare and freight for the trains so that it can generate revenue to overcome financial crunch. The Standing Committee of Senate on Railways recommended this during its meeting held here Monday at Railways Headquarter. The Standing Committee urged railway authorities to establish a system of rewards and punishments.
The committee in its recommendations urged the railway management to shun all pressures and never surrender to political pressure while performing the official duty and try their utmost to make the railways once again a revenue-generating organisation. The committee also emphasised the need of running the trains on commercial basis without compromising the service to the poor passengers.
The committee comprising Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Senator Professor Muhammad Ibrahim and Senator Zahid Khan ruled out any sale of Pakistan Railways land, however, it has proposed giving agriculture land on lease, but not more than 10 years period.
The committee said that railways management is itself responsible for the losses incurred, so far, on account of the fact the Railways laws are becoming hurdles in establishing and running the department on the modern lines and demands.
Senator Maulana Naseeb Gull, Senate Standing Committee for Railways during the press briefing said soon the matters relating to the Railways would also be put up in the parliament, adding Railways' property should be rented out for the profits instead of its sale.
Gull said soon the recommendations relating to the matters of Royal Palm Country Club and the land of Pindi Road would be put up in the Senate. He added that Railways authorities would also be given the time of two years to run it on modern lines, besides avoiding the ongoing losses.
Talking about the CNG stations on the Railways land, he said about 13 CNG stations against the Army Value Trust's proposal of 80 commercial plots, were installed over the land of Railways, which produced the revenue (profit) of Rs 142 millions for the Railways. He recommended that the rest proposed plots out of the 80 should be in the possession of the Railways forthwith.