LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati said railways would not be privatized; however, capacity building of the staff would be carried out for the betterment of department.

The minister was addressing his first press conference after taking charge of the railways ministry at the Pakistan Railways (PR) Headquarters here on Saturday.

He said the government could not run everything; therefore, he added, those sections of the railways would be outsourced which were difficult for the department to manage.

He said with the help of private parties, an environment of competition could be developed for betterment of the department and to facilitate citizens. He said that quality of service and punctuality would be ensured to attract maximum number of passengers. Swati said the freight sector of the PR would be given priority for enhancing its income. He said the court cases would be concluded, the administration would be improved, trust of the passengers would be restored and land encroachments on railways land would be cleared.

Azam Khan Swati said inflation is the major challenge for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government instead of any movement against it.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was struggling to end cartels in the country. He claimed that he accepted responsibility of the PR as a challenge and the people would observe clear difference on completion of our tenure. The minister said that safety was a great issue in the Railways as human life is the most precious thing.

Letters were written to the provincial governments for conversion of unmanned level crossings into manned ones and in case of any tragedy, the provincial governments will be responsible, he added.

He warned that embezzlement of Railways lands would never be tolerated. He said the PR would be run like a national commercial enterprise as it supported industry, agriculture and tourism.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020