The two Railway Stations and the entire Railway track in the Rawalpindi City have turned into a big security risk as a result of poor security measures, and maintenance. In spite of frequent complaints by the people, and reports published in media the high ups of Pakistan Railways paid no heed, and there was no proper security arrangement on almost a dozen railway bridges and many kilometer long railway tracks passing within the city which could cause havoc any time.
There are two Railway Stations in Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Railway Station and Chaklala Railway Station; both fall in the Cantonment area and all the railway track passes through the territory of cantonment.
Almost 5,000 passengers are daily travelling in 13 different passenger trains from these two railway stations and are coming to Railway Station along with their kith and kin.
Both these railway stations are very important and busy but there is no proper security arrangement and neither government official bothered to take appropriate security measures to protect the life and property of the people besides huge assets of national exchequer.
Screening Gate and Close Circuit Cameras are sophisticated instruments to avert disruptive activities; there is no single metal detector available to security personnel in these two railway stations.
Railway track installed within the territorial premises of Rawalpindi has almost outdated and stain has caused damage to it while the railway bridges are no different story than this.
No security arrangements were made on the railway bridges in the city which has made them a security risk and an easy target to the terrorists and outlaws. Neither a single personnel of railway police was so far deployed on these bridges nor any attempt was made to replace the stained track.
It is need of the hour that government and Pakistan Railway should make necessary arrangements for the safety and security of the passengers and besides installation of new railway track they should deploy security personnel on the railway bridges.
In spite of tall claims from the administration of Pakistan Railway thousands of acres of land on the sides of the Railway track was not so far recovered from "Qabza Mafia".
Sources told this scribe on various occasion plans were made to vacate that land from the mafia and enhanced railway revenue through different means, but they added some vested interests were causing hurdles in those plans. Some black sheep in Pakistan Railway were patronising that mafia for their meagre interests.
Besides a qabza mafia, gypsies had also occupied huge land of Pakistan Railway in Rawalpindi which was not so far vacated by the authorities.
Sources told after computerisation of Railway ticketing system huge national exchequer was saved. They said there was an organised mafia looting the railway exchequer by issuing tickets without any record but now that was brought to an end by computerisation of the ticketing system. They said that new system had made the availability of the tickets easy for the passengers and blocked the roads of black marketers and mafia members.
They said there were still various loopholes from which pilferage was still continued and it was being expected that measures would be taken to cover those loopholes to save a good money.