Railways to join hands with universities for staff training

Aims to enhance work performance, ensure safe and smooth operations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is planning to launch joint ventures with local universities for capacity building of its academies and imparting technical training to its staff.

“Pakistan Railways is taking a number of steps to improve performance and build capacity of its staff in an effort to ensure safe and smooth operations of the national fleet,” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.



He said the railways had undertaken several steps to enhance capacity of its institutions and academies including the upgrade of Pakistan Railway Academy, Walton, by establishing a separate wing for the Pakistan Railways Research and Development Centre.

The centre comprises state-of-the-art labs with facilities for the design, development and management of railway infrastructure and operations.

The official said the plan to upgrade the entire infrastructure including buildings, equipment, laboratories and field testing facilities was included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said agreements for technical collaboration with the Korean Rail Road Research Institute and Chinese training institutes were being explored.

To improve the performance of Technical Training Centre, Karachi, Pakistan Railways has introduced a state-of-the-art conference room equipped with latest gadgets and improved seating arrangements.

The railways has repaired and upgraded the building of the technical training centre and replaced old-engine models with new ones for demonstration before the trainees.



According to the official, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed last year by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP) and Pakistan Railways Police through the Ministry of Railways and Economic Affairs Division. As per the understanding, ICITAP agreed to spend $0.677 million on the upgrade of the Railway Police Training School.

In line with another MoU, various courses were being conducted at the training school through ICITAP for the capacity building and skill development of railway police to help them in criminal investigation, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2017.

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