The Finance Ministry has yet to release Rs 6.1 billion to the Railway Ministry for rehabilitation of locomotives, a month after it agreed to inject the amount, which is further deepening the ongoing crisis in Railways. Talking to Business Recorder, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Minister for Railways (PR), said that the government had promised to release Rs 6.1 billion for rehabilitation of locomotives to PR.
It was decided that the amount would be arranged through a consortium of commercial banks and PR would not only pay the loan but would also pay the interest. "We had finalised the deal with the National Bank of Pakistan. However, the Finance Ministry raised some objection over the deal, and PR has yet to get the promised amount", he added.
"Currently, only 112 locomotives are operational, and we are planning to repair 96 locomotives as soon as the government releases the promised amount", said Bilour. However, an official of the Railways Ministry said that even if the government immediately released the amount for the rehabilitation of locomotives, it would take about six to seven months to repair only 25 locomotives, in the first phase.
The government will have to open a tender and then order for the procurement of spare parts for these locomotives. It is likely that train service across the country would continue to be disturbed due to engines shortage. Recently the government doubled the PR debt limit from Rs 1 billion to Rs 2 billion by issuing guaranty to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for purchase of diesel. However, PR schedule remains disturbed due to locomotive shortage, sources said.