Study underway to convert Pakistan Railways (PR) into a State Corporation with full financial autonomy to facilitate the execution of development strategy with regard to the production of locos and other necessary equipment.
Federal Minister for Railways Mian Shamim Haider has said on Thursday while talking to the reporters at the premises of Pakistan Locomotive Factory Risalpur.
The Railways Minister said, "we are planning to complete the process of making railways a state corporation at the earliest, however, the government has no plan to privatise that state owned entity."
Supporting the conversion into State Corporation, he said that giving financial autonomy to the railways would improve service delivery, and ensured the implementation of development projects in time.
The routine problems like getting approved PC-I and release of funds would be resolved by making it state corporation, he added.
Mian Shamim observed the Locomotive Factory at Risalpur was yet to reach the optimum plant capacity and efforts were on to achieve the full utilisation.
He told that the problem of shortage of funds was one of the key factors hindering the full utilisation of the factory to generate employment opportunities and cater for the loco requirement of the country.
Responding to a question the Railways Minister said, diversification of technologies was a must for achieving self-reliance, and added that very few countries in the world had achieved the manufacturing capability of complete railway engine.
"Our engineers are best and hard workers," he said, adding they had fully mastered their expertise on the application of diverse technologies.
However he maintained, the manufacturing of complete loco was a long-term process as at the moment very few countries have that capability.
The Railways Minister and Manufacturing and Services GM, Major General (Retd) Hamid Hassan Butt highly acclaimed the technical expertise of the local technicians who according to them proved their worth.
Initially here was an impression that the establishment of the loco factory at such a remote village would hardly prove a success, they added.
Mian Shamim Haider denied the notion that there was any disparity in the salary package and allowances of the railways workers working in Carriage factory Islamabad and Locomotive factory Risalpur.
However, Major General (R) Hamid Hassan Butt explained that to give the facility of overtime and other perks and privileges, the right sizing of the strength of the workers was essential.
Earlier, the Railways Minister had a detailed round of the locomotive factory and also performed the rolling out of the 6th indigenously manufactured locomotive of 3,000 H.P.
Later, the GM Manufacturing and Services, SM Operation Railway Aurangzeb and MD Locomotive Works briefed Railway Minister and state Minister for Railway Ishaq Khakwani about the performance and achievement of the locomotive factory.
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