ISLAMABAD: To mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Pakistan Railways (PR) has announced to reduce rail fare for persons with disabilities (PWDs) by 50 percent.
The ministry, in an announcement, said that all the PWDs will attain a 50 percent discount travelling on all express and passenger trains, excluding the Green Line. The concession is available upon presentation of a CNIC featuring the disability logo and the discount also applies to attendants accompanying visually-impaired passengers.
To further support PWDs, Pakistan Railways has implemented several measures at major stations which include wheelchair availability, dedicated reservation counters, and complimentary access to executive washrooms and restrooms. Plans are under way to establish dedicated executive washrooms for PWDs at 12 major stations.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Railways, Aamir Baloch, the railway has generated Rs33billion in revenue over the past five months, reflecting a 14 percent year-on-year growth compared to the Rs29 billion recorded during the same period last year. He said that PR is all set to achieve revenue generation target set target for the year 2024-25.
This represents an incremental revenue gain of over Rs4 billion, underscoring an enhanced operational efficiency and strategic revenue optimisation. During the last year, the revenue of Pakistan Railways increased to more than Rs88 billion, up from the previous Rs63 billion, marking a 40 percent increase in revenue compared to the last financial year. Such revenue has never been recorded in the history of Pakistan Railways. Initially, the government set a revenue target of Rs73 billion for the department at the beginning of the financial year.
The department earned Rs47 billion from passenger trains, Rs28 billion from goods vehicles, and more than Rs13 billion from land and other sources.
CEO Aamir Baloch credited this achievement to the tireless work of the employees and expressed determination to increase the income to Rs100 billion next financial year.
Moreover, the PR CEO highlighted encouraging prospects for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, indicating that groundwork is expected to commence by March 2025, positioning the organisation for long-term infrastructure growth and profitability.
He further said that the PR has leased out some 14,042 acres railways owned land to private sector and various government departments under an open competition policy to generate revenue.
They said that the leasing process is being done according to the Pakistan Railway Property & Land Rules-2023, which were approved by the Federal Cabinet.
Of the total leased land, around 10,747 acres have been allocated to private individuals through open competition for agricultural, commercial, and stacking purposes, while 3,295 acres have been leased to different government departments. The department through this process generated revenue amounting to Rs3.323 billion during the financial year 2022-23.
In response to a query, the official said Pakistan Railways has intensified efforts to reclaim approximately 13,972 acres of land, worth billions of rupees, which is either encroached by various public sector departments or private sector including individuals across the country.
The breakdown of illegally occupied land includes 5,809 acres in Punjab, 1,181 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5,948 acres in Sindh, and 1,034 acres in Balochistan. Giving details of the land, the official said that around 769 acres were commercial in all the provinces, 3,309 residential, 5,512 acres agricultural and 4382 were under encroachment of various persons or departments
To address this issue, Pakistan Railways has decided to intensify its anti-encroachment operations nationwide to recover its land from individuals, groups, and business organisations, who have been using it for residential, commercial, or agricultural purposes for decades. Joint procedural orders have been issued to all Divisional Superintendents (DSs) of Pakistan Railways to recover the encroached land,” the CEO said.
He explained that anti-encroachment operations are being initiated across the railway network by the concerned divisions. Notices are issued to encroachers under the Possession Ordinance of 1965, requiring them to vacate railway land or structures within 14 days. The official added that Pakistan Railway Police, district administrations, and law enforcement agencies are being informed to provide necessary assistance during these operations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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