ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways (PR) has finalised a plan to shift to solar energy, for which, 100 sites with heavy electricity consumption have been identified and once shifted to solar energy, it would save at least Rs1 billion a year for the entity.
According to senior PR officials, the management is taking various steps to increase revenue generation and reduce financial losses of PR including shifting railway housing colonies, hospitals, offices, and other infrastructure to solar energy, increasing freight trains, and renovating the coaches to attract more clients including commercial.
According to officials, Railways’ total financial losses at present amount to Rs48 billion including Rs40 billion pension payments. PR’s liabilities, at present, stand at Rs24 billion, including Rs20 billion in pensions and benevolent fund. One of the major challenges Railways is facing is expenditure on salaries and pensions, which has exceeded its total generated revenue.
Despite achieving record revenue of Rs62.5billion during the financial year 2022-23, PR fell short of meeting its expenditure by Rs7.42 billion. PR has set a target of Rs80 billion for 2023-24, with a revenue target higher than the previous year by over Rs10 billion.
The officials said that in fiscal year 2022-23 it generated Rs62.5billion in revenue from its operations, Rs3.2 billion from rent on land and over Rs2 billion from selling scrap. Of this amount, Rs40.607billion was spent on pensions and Rs35.7 billion on salaries.
The officials said that the railway management has assigned NESPAK to complete the feasibility study of installing solar panels on selected sites, adding that 16,535 out of 26,660 electric meters so far of the railway’s residential colonies are shifted to Distribution Companies (Discos) and Karachi-Electric (KE) to minimise the financial losses. “The electric meters of residential colonies are being shifted to Discos by the department and the step has resulted in savings of Rs1.3 billion so far.”
They said Pakistan Railways had taken certain austerity measures to moderate its losses and all these austerity measures have been taken in line with the instructions issued by Finance Division from time to time. In addition to austerity measures, the department has rigorously followed a diversified approach to reducing its different costs along with measures to improve its revenue streams.
To minimise financial losses, the PR management has abolished 1,377 positions from Railways Headquarters and divisions; this step will save an estimated Rs720.5 million annually in salary bills.
In order to improve the revenue streams, certain other steps have also been taken included to reduce manual working, streamlining financial operations and minimising the risk of ghost employees and pensioners, SAP-based ERP system is under development to bring transparency and increase the revenue stream.
The officials said the short-term leasing of land had been introduced instead of long-term leasing to stay competitive in the market for increased revenue flow, adding that passenger train fares and freight rates had been rationalised and were constantly being monitored based on supply and demand and volatile prices of fuel to generate more revenues.
The officials said the facilities being provided to the passengers at railway stations include waiting rooms, vending stalls, station restaurants, wheelchairs, information desk, computer reservation facilities, public address system to inform public about arrival/ departure of trains, provision of paramedics and first aid facility, online reservation facility, passenger insurance service and revival of help desks at stations facilities in trains.
They said the overall punctuality ratio of trains has improved from 76 to 93 percent in three months owing to close monitoring and stern measures taken by Pakistan Railways at the divisional and ministry levels. “With the punctuality of trains and concrete measures taken by the department in the last three months, the number of passengers has increased by over 20 million, which is ample proof of the department’s achievement,” they added.
“Pakistan Railways is also set to introduce the ‘Train Driver Assistant System’ (TDAS) to help train drivers a clear view of the railway tracks up to an impressive distance of 700 meters.”
“The technology aims to enhance the safety, punctuality and efficiency of train operations during adverse weather conditions, particularly in the presence of dense smog and fog,” they added. “TDAS is set to revolutionize the way trains navigate through foggy landscapes. It promised not only to avert potential accidents but also to facilitate smooth train travel when visibility is severely compromised.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024