Pakistan Railways is holding the pre-bid conference on track access in Lahore on 5th December offering private sector to operate its own trains on Pakistan Railway tracks, official sources told Business Recorder here on Monday.
Sources said that 40 major shipping lines, container terminal operators, freight forwarders, transporters, and private airlines have confirmed their participation in the one-day conference being held to prepare authentic bid documents without loose ends in consultation with the prospective bidders.
Sources said that in order to develop modern rail passenger and freight services in Pakistan, the government has approved a policy for private sector participation to operate freight and passenger trains on Pakistan Railway infrastructure. "Under the policy, Pakistan Railways will make available its infrastructure, track and facilities to the private train operators for transportation of freight and passengers," they added.
They said private train operator would own, operate, maintain and manage to handle the freight and passenger trains. He will enter into a contract with PR for "track access" and will pay to PR the track access charges and charges for other services provided by the PR.
Under the policy, they said, the PTO could also enter into contracts with customers for transportation but it would not debar PR from entering into contracts with any customer, who may want PR to carry their cargo/passenger.
Sources said that only Pakistani investors were allowed to own and operate these trains initially for a period of 20 years extendable by mutual agreement. "They can get the rolling stock on lease / purchase from anywhere, including India.
The sources said that the infrastructure of PR provides an uninterrupted transport network linking the country's main industrial and population centres, thus ideally suited for movement of high volume passenger, bulk and container traffic.
They said that the potential private sector investors could use 15 to 20 of the unused pairs of paths for transportation of high volume of passengers, international containers, cement, fertilisers, chemicals, steel products, oil, coal, rock phosphate and goods in transit to Afghanistan from Karachi and up country.