Laden with 75 containers, Pakistan's first-ever freight train under public-private partnership left Karachi Cantonment Station on Tuesday for Lahore Praim Nagar dry port. "The freight train project has been initiated with an agreement signed with Pakistan Railways Freight Transportation Company (PRFTC) to run a goods train to Lahore from Karachi on daily basis," Marine Group Managing Director Asim Siddiqui said. The maiden journey began after the Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad cut the ribbon as Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Marine Group's MD Asim Siddiqui, and CEO Pakistan Railways Freight Transportation Company (PRFTC), Zafar Zaman Ranjha accompanied him.
This joint venture under PPP mode would help the county's old transport entity to earn annual revenue of Rs 3 billion besides ensuring the cost-efficient cargo transportation alternative for the traders who are highly dependent upon road trucks for it.
Siddiqui elaborated that the Marine Group is bound under the contract to pay Rs 750 million to railways against each train, annually, while the PR has to operate the train regularly.
"Pakistan Railways has an ideal capacity to run more freight trains," Siddiqui told Business Recorder.
He said that the PR would be able to earn Rs 750 million from one train annually, without any investment or increase of manpower. He said the PR has no loading and unloading facility. Neither the department has door-to-door facility. The Minister has developed a package in this joint venture and allowed Marine Group to set up our loading and unloading facilities, he said, adding that this is the first-ever scheduled train service of its sort in the history of Pakistan.
"An everyday occurring, the train will depart to Lahore from Karachi at 12 noon, regularly. It was the demand of traders and industrialists that we should have a regular train service," Siddiqui said.
To a query, the MD further said the largest market after Karachi is Lahore; hence, MG operating one train from Karachi now. Another train is expected to be operated in January 25 next and their target is to run four trains every day from Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad and Sialkot by March next for which scheduling and networking of these trains are being worked out.
"Each train will give rupees 750 million to the railways on annual basis and if they run four trains which they are committed to do then the annual expected revenue will jump up to rupees 3 to 5 billion," he said, adding that the potential in the PR's freight train service was some Rs 30 billion.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed vowed to revive the department with the help of private sector in short span of time as the era of corruption is over now.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, he said the ministry inherited a huge deficit amounting Rs 35 billion from the previous government. He said that nothing but purchasing locomotives at higher prices had remained the practice under last two governments since 2008-2018. He said the PR could get out of the financial crisis if it successfully operates some 24 freight train. He said the PR's annual earnings are some Rs 18 billion and if businessmen and Chambers commit Rs 50 billion with bank guarantee, he was ready to hand over the entire freight service to them.
"Businessmen should come up with new coaches because Pakistan Railways runs short of trains," he said. Sheikh cited that he had got a study conducted some 14 years back that shoed 60 percent of the country's population settle across the tracks ML-1, ML-2, ML-3 and ML- 4, but a fresh Chinese study suggests that 72.3 percent of the total population is living across said tracks.
"We are planning to lay double track from Karachi to Peshawar under CPEC with minimum speed of 160 to maximum 260 kilometres per hour," he said, adding that negotiations in this regard are underway. The Minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would decide the mode of this investment whether it will be loan, BOT, PPP or a joint venture. This will be decided prior to March 23, 2019.
Sheikh said that ML 1 would be the revolutionary project to replace 1750 kilometre tracks. He claimed that even Pakistan Steel would be revived through this project. He assured to initiate two more passenger trains from Sindh as occupancy rate is higher than 142 per cent in Sindh. He also spoke on removal of encroachments from Railways land so that Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) could be revived.
He said there was a huge scope in Railways for the private sector partnership due to a lot of passengers. He said he would stay for three days every month in Karachi. He said the PR had operated 20 new trains within 100 days and planning to run 20 more coaches this year.
He was concerned over Rs 35 billion deficit Rs 25 billion loan that Pakistan Railways suffer from. He said the PR pays Rs 30 billion in head of employees' salaries and its annual oil consumptions have go up to 18 billion.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail appreciated the minister to work for the betterment of Pakistan Railways. He said 50 percent of transportation is being covered by Railways in the world; however, we could not utilize the freight sector despite having tracks, engines, coaches because of lack of political will and vision in the past and now it is an uphill task for us to change the department.
He said the country is going on right track and its future is bright. There is zero tolerance for corruption in PTI government. He said businessmen were somehow reluctant on anti-corruption drive; however, PTI government took them into confidence assuring them that this very drive was against those who have plundered the national wealth, and engaged in money laundering. He vowed such elements would be taken to task and NAB and FIA were working independently, in this regard.