Pakistan Railways horrific decline continues

Horrific accidents, losses amounting to billions, and most recently the stoppage of a train by the driver to buy yogurt for himself sum up the rapidly deteriorating state Pakistan Railways finds itself in.

According to a report prepared by the railways department for the Ministry of Railways, while the departmental deficit ballooned to a whopping Rs 46 billion in 2021, during the current Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government’s tenure, total losses incurred for railways stand at Rs 1.19 trillion. As far as accidents are concerned, 270 people lost their lives and a further 396 were injured in 455 train accidents between 2018 and 2021.

The report, a copy of which is available with the Express Tribune, provides a detailed overview of accidents, departmental deficit, and other administrative matters in the last 3 years. For instance, 57 passenger trains were shut down and now only 85 trains are available for the various routes across the country. Similarly, the number of freight carriages was reduced from 16,159 to 14,327. While the number of employees decreased from 120,000 to 67,627, pensioners of the department now stand at more than 115,000 people. The report states that during the last financial year, while the salaries of current railway employees amounted to Rs 28.21 billion, a hefty Rs 31.41 billion was spent on retirement pensions.

Sheikh Mohammad Anwar, Central President of Pakistan Railways CBA Union, while talking to the Express Tribune, remarked that since 1991-92, the District Management Group (DMG), which is now known as the Pakistan Administrative Service, has appointed the Chairman Railways but none of their appointments have managed to improve railways.

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 “The railway is a multi-technical institution, but when the head of the institution is non-technical, what will be the development of that institution?” Anwar questioned. Directing his ire towards the department, he stated that in all the accidents from 1992 to date, railway officers and employees were suspended and sent to jails, but no responsibility was imposed on any chairman.

Former Federal Minister for Railways and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central leader, Khawaja Saad Rafique, while talking to the Express Tribune about the findings of the report stated that the current government had completed derailed railways.

“The train is a ride for the poor and middle class, and we strengthened the department with reforms but the present government has ruined whatever ground we made by its incompetence and ineptiude,” he said.

Rafique was of the view that the railways would be unable to reduce its deficit and become a for-profit entity again in the present setup.

However, a hopeful Azam Khan Swati, the current Federal Minister for Railways, stated that work is underway to get railways out of deficit.

He stated that the implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would transform railways by laying railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar and from Taxila to Havelian, and trains would start running at speeds of 160 miles per hour (mph) instead of 90 mph which would make rail travel safer and faster and make the railways a profitable entity.

“The government is also set to announce a package for the rehabilitation of the railways soon. The restoration of railways is one of the government's top priorities,” Swati informed.

Anwar, the union leader, while hopeful for a government’s cash injection into the department, was not sold on Swati’s claims and maintained that only an efficient head of department could sort the mess.

 “We demand that professional people should be brought forward to develop railways instead of arbitrary ones. Instead of bringing an outsider as head, responsibility should be given to a competent and technical person from within the department,” he told the Express Tribune.