Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has cut down oil supply to Pakistan Railways after PR's cheque of Rs 700 million bounced back owing insufficient funds in the Railway's account. Pakistan Railways is now facing acute fuel shortage and is left with only one day's oil stock to run its freight as well as passengers trains, Business Recorder has learnt.
An official of PR seeking anonymity said that due to shortage of fuel, Pakistan Railways had shut down various passengers and fright trains from Karachi to Lahore and other destinations on Monday. The suspension of operation of several trains on various routes resulted in stranding of large number of passengers at various railway stations. Huge rush was witnessed at Lahore Railway Station on Tuesday.
The official said that the department gave another cheque of Rs 200 million to the PSO authorities on Tuesday, which might avert the worst in Railways' 150 year history. General Manger Operation Ashfaq Khattak told this scribe that due to financial crunch Pakistan Railways reduced its oil stock reserves from three month to one month. Now the reserves have further been trimmed to seven days. However, he said the government has approved a bail out package of Rs 11 billion of which Rs one billion have been earmarked to improve Railway's fuel reserves.