Steps being taken to cut losses: Railways enhances revenue target to Rs 31 billion: Saad

Federal Minister for Railway Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday that Pakistan Railways has enhanced its budgetary revenue target from Rs 28 billion to Rs 31 billion on the basis of its last 17 months' admirable progress towards revival. Speaking at a press conference at the Railway Headquarters, he said the federal government fixed Rs 65 billion to meet the current expenditures of Pakistan Railways and the management had decided to cut its size to Rs 62.5 billion to save for the national exchequer.
The PR General Manager Operation and other officials were also present on the occasion. To a question, the Railway minister said that the PR management had decided to make recruitments and retirements in balance rationale to reduce current expenditures as in some production units the manpower was in surplus to the demand. The surplus staff was recruited in lower grades on 'political grounds', he added. The organisation would do all efforts to cut the loss till the end of this financial year as revenue had started rising tendency in freight, passengers and land utilisation sector, he added.
A survey is being under progress to assess the occupancy of passengers' trains and this strategy would help earn about Rs 1 billion more while adding more coaches to high occupancy trains. Measures were being taken to earn Rs 7 billion in freight as compared to Rs 3.5 billion of the corresponding year. Presently 45 locomotives were in freight business and it would be 70 in number till June 2015, the minister said.
Only the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gave land ownership to PR of land under its use whereas other provinces were making delaying tactics on this issue despite repeated requests from organisation, Rafique maintained. Three cargo express trains were in operation between Lahore and Karachi in a week and "we had planned to raise number to 12 between Karachi-Lahore-Multan and Faisalabad for coming months", he said.
It would enhance revenue and promote employment opportunities among the working class and others, Rafique said. As many as 10 locomotives of NLC would join the PR fleet on November 14 as negotiation were in final phase and railways had a plan to allow private parties and local governments to establish green belts and nurseries along with tracks on useless land.
The organisation would also construct rail stalls, shops and shopping arcades on spacious lands along with tracks to fetch more revenue, the minister said. When asked about the quality of food in dinning cars, the minister said there would be no compromise on quality and prices, adding that the fares of trains would remain low as compared to road transports.