Railways: Restoration of fuel supplies not enough

Pakistan Railway has not resumed its service despite restoration of diesel supply.

LAHORE:

Pakistan Railway (PR) has not resumed its regular train schedule despite the restoration of diesel supply. At present 15 passenger trains remain suspended. Large crowds are seen at the city as well as the Kot Lakhpat railway stations. The provision of diesel to PR by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was suspended due to non payment of outstanding dues, leading to major disruptions a few days ago.

PR has not resumed the schedule for the 15 trains suspended when disruption occurred and 10 of these are still not operational. These include five trains at Peshawar and five plying in the Multan division.

According to PSO officials the railways has received over 3 million litres of diesel from March 16 to March 20. The daily consumption of diesel is approximately 422,000 litres.

Several passengers at the City Railway Station complained about inordinate delays for nearly all express and passenger trains. Main express trains including the Karachi Express and Karaquram Express departed from the Lahore stations three hours after their scheduled time on Saturday.

Shakeel Ahmad, who was travelling along with his family to Karachi, said

“Travelling long distances with one’s family on a train has become nearly impossible. First, we waited hours for the train to leave the station and then hours at several stops on the way.”

Sajid Ali waiting for Tezgam Express said that train was several hours late and there was no place to sit at the platform. “If there are going to be routine delays the least they can do is ensure that passengers have a place to sit and wait comfortably,” he said.

A PR spokesperson told The Express Tribune that the delays were caused by an oil shortage. “The situation will improve now that we have a steady supply of fuel. The train schedules are being revised and the delays are being minimised,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2011.