ISLAMABAD – Minister for Railway Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Monday expressed hisfirm resolve to make Pakistan Railways self sufficient by December 30, thisyear by overcoming its whooping Rs 37 billion annual deficit.

Talking to media, he said work had already been started to minimize therailways deficit. A meeting of railway high officials has been summoned inLahore on coming Saturday to prepare a comprehensive roadmap forrehabilitation of Pakistan Railways.

Talking about railway’s modernisation he said, the passengers of second andthird class carriages would be provided air conditioning facility, whilemodern escalators would be installed at the stations to facilitate elderpassengers and special persons.

Lahore-Rawalpindi railway track would be dualised under China PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) and the travelling time between Lahore andRawalpindi would be reduced to two and a half hours.

The length of Kalowal to Jhelum railway track would be reduced fromexisting 65 km to only 15 km by eliminating unnecessary curves. NationalLogistic Cell and (NLC) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) would beasked to construct Gujar Khan to Jhelum railway track, he added.

He said, as many as 32 railway stations would be upgraded includingChaklala and Margalla railway stations in Rawalpindi and Islamabadrespectively.

Efforts would be made to double the freight traffic, he said and added,rail plazas and food streets would be constructed near the stations incollaboration with private sector.

E ticketing system would be improved further and travel agents would beauthorized to issue railway tickets.

He also asked people to send practical suggestions through social media forimproving Pakistan Railways and also pinpoint anomalies, or anythingobjectionable in trains, or at the railway stations.

The railway carriages would be named after the sponsoring companies.

A massive tree plantation would be started along the railway track rightfrom Kemari to Peshawar, he said and urged land grabbers to voluntarilyvacate their illegal possession of railway lands. He said that 5,000 studioapartments would be constructed for railway employees.

Pakistan Railways, he said, would not get subsidy from the government, ifRs 30 billion per annum pension of its retired railway employees was paiddirectly to pensioners by the government.

Responding to a question, he said Leh Expressway would be constructed underthe China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Train service wouldalso be started on Leh Expressway from Rawat to Islamabad. He thanked mediafor supporting him while he was in opposition. – APP