Pakistan Railways Chairman Muhammad Kashif Murtaza has said deficit has swelled to Rs 26 billion and that the railways will cut 5 billion in the coming five months.
"The work will continue on the rehabilitation of couches, train engines and 36 diesel electric engines will be rehabilitated and repaired up to December 2009 at a cost of 1.6 billion," he told journalists when he addressed a ceremony on Wednesday at the Pakistan Railways Locomot Workshop Mugulpura.
He also opened the first electric diesel engine, rehabilitated and repaired by rail engineers and workers, which was included in the operational mechanism. He said workers were dutiful and had the capability to change the deficit into profitable.
While appreciating the role of media he said that electronic and print media must highlight the drawbacks and weakness of the Pakistan Railway and media men should also expose the positive development projects of the Pakistan Railway to make its image better in the eyes of public.
He said the administration would not increase the fares to reduce the total deficit of the organisation. All the available sources would be utilised to provide better facilities to the passengers.
He said that these rehabilitated electric engines life would be 10-15 years and these were 36 years old and all these engines were repaired without any foreign experts' help and constancy. Operations General Manager Nasir Ahmad Zadi, manufacturing and services and welfare counterparts, Asad Saeed and Farooq Aziz were also present.