The second business train of the country was inaugurated at Multan railway station on Saturday. The train reached at Multan 20 minute before the schedule. Prime Minister's son MPA Abdul Qadar Gilani could not reach to inaugurate the business train due to by-election of his younger brother Syed Musa Gilani, however, PM's Media Co-ordinator Khawaja Rizwan Alam and other PPP office bearers including Khurshid Ahmed Khan joined the inaugural ceremony.
Khawaja Rizwan told mediamen here on Saturday that Pakistan Railways (PR) had planned to offer operations of four more trains to private sector for investment and operate passenger trains on routes Rawalpindi to Lahore, Sargodha to Karachi, Lahore to Karachi, and Sialkot to Karachi.
Apart from this, National Logistic Cell (NLC) and PR have signed an agreement under which NLC will finance for repairing of 30 locomotives and 15 would be used by NLC for its freight operations and the rest would be used by PR for as passenger trains. Outsourcing train operations to private sector has proved successful and the private sector is also willing to invest in train operations. Keeping this interest of the private sector, PR has plans to offer operations of four more trains to the private sector, Railways official informed.
A private company has decided to invest Rs 220 million and this money would be paid back to the company within next three years from the income of the train. He informed that private company running this train would give PR guaranteed amount of Rs 1.15 billion per annum against Rs 859 million to Rs 900 million earning achieved through operations by the Railways department.
According to an agreement reached between PR and the private sector staff for train operations and cost of maintenance including spares would be born by the private sector and workshops facilities will be provided by Railways. A Railway spokesman said the passenger occupancy of PR trains was estimated at 45 percent to 70 percent and private company operating the train would ensure payment of up to 88 percent occupancy and would pay Rs 3,500 per passenger to PR.
The private company will charge from passengers Rs 5,000 and provide newspapers, other entertainment and high quality foods prepared in five star hotels like lunch and dinner to them. Reforms have been carried out in public sector entities to ensure good financial and administrative governance in these national institutions and work on these reforms has started giving results.
He informed that PR would get rupees six billion loan financing next month with formal approval by the Economic Co-ordination Committee and this amount would be used for repair and rehabilitation of 96 locomotives for passenger and freight trains. PR has already rehabilitated 14 locomotives on its own and with the repair of 96 locomotives it would be easy for it to restart freight operations. He informed that Ministry of Finance was already paying Rs 2.3 billion per month to railways for its salary and pension obligations.
He said the federal government was also giving Railways Rs 27 billion to bridge it's earning and expenditure gaps, apart from this the federal government had also cleared PR's Rs 600 million power over dues, adding PR was also getting Rs 15 billion for its development projects. Federal government has also increased the Pakistan State Oil fuel credit line from rupees one billion to rupees two billion.
The official further informed that rail track between Karachi to Lahore would be doubled by the end of 2012, rehabilitation of locomotives, purchase and rehabilitation of rail coaches, installation of latest signal system between Lahore and Karachi would be completed within next two years and with development budget PR is completing its 29 projects.