When will this happen? Business Recorder op-ed writer Dr Omer Javed in his two-part series of articles titled "Commercializing Pakistan Railways" has sought to draw government's attention to a solution that he expertly presents for white elephant Pakistan Railways. According to him, "There are indeed a number of countries, which have successfully commercialized their railways, like CN (Canada), QR (Australia), and Conrail (US), and could provide a learning curve for Pakistan. The Ministry of Railways (MoR) in Pakistan could even look to forge a technical assistance programme with one or more countries with successful commercialization experiences."

The firebrand railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad is required to take a leaf out of this writer's book with a view to bringing about a marked change in railways' performance.