Govt to spend Rs280m on construction of Bahawalpur Model Railway Station

Says two trains have resumed service

BAHAWALPUR: Rs280 million will be spent on the construction of Bahawalpur Model Railway Station, Federal Minister Saad Rafique said on Sunday.

He said the ministry would upgrade nine railway stations into model railway stations. He was talking to members of Economic Development Forum at Circuit House in Bahawalpur. Later, he spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony of the model railway station in Bahawalpur.

The minister said, “When I took charge of the ministry, the income of Pakistan Railways was Rs12 billion a year. In three years, it has increased to Rs35.5 billion.”

“We have worked hard to eliminate corruption in the department,” he said.

The minister said quota system would be abolished in three months. “We will introduce an online booking system.”

He said the government was working on converting the Laal Sohanra National Park into a tourism spot. He said a special train to Laal Sohanra would be launched to facilitate tourists.

The minister said Rs280 million would be spent on the construction of the model railway station in Bahawalpur. He said 200 new engines would be purchased the United States. He said Rohi Express and Shah Rukn-i-Alam Express, which had been discontinued earlier, were recently re-launched.

“The government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has introduced unprecedented development programmes,” he said. “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should look at the corruption under Pakistan Peoples Party’s tenure instead of criticising Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.”

“Pakistan will prosper under our government. Bilawal should ask himself why no development project has been completed in Sindh by the provincial government led by the PPP in eight years.”

“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has been in the government for the last three years. During this time, they could only construct one flyover in Peshawar.”

The railway minister said those trying to dismantle the government would not succeed in their nefarious designs.

“Now everyone is asking Imran Khan about his offshore company. It must be easy for him to criticise others. He considers his own offshore company legal and those by others illegal.”

The railway minister said Imran should focus on governing KPK. “He is wasting his time trying to bring the government down. The government is not going anywhere. We will complete our tenure and face the public for their verdict in 2018.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2016.