Fog, rains badly hit transport sector

Air, rail, road traffic frequently disrupted during January

LAHORE:

The railway and airlines suffered losses of millions of rupees as a result of disruption of their schedules due to fog and rains during last month. Official record shows that trains were delayed for a cumulative 3,255 hours in January due to fog and track maintenance on some sections, while some trains had to be cancelled.
At least 186 flights were cancelled and delay of155 hours was caused, while motorways remain closed for 372 hours at various interchanges during the month. The railways faced a loss of Rs4.5 million because of refund of tickets and higher fuel consumption, while airlines had to bear a loss of more than Rs8.5 million.

Heavy fog during January caused repeated shutting of airports, railway tracks and motorways, causing problems for the passengers and losses for the transport sector. Sources told The Express Tribune that 11 national and international flights from Allama Iqbal Airport were cancelled on January 7 due to continuous rains for several days. Nine flights were not allowed to land at Lahore airport, due to which 447 passengers were brought from other cities by buses.

This cost the airlines about Rs3.9 million. The cancelled flights included those to and from Jeddah, Bahrain, Sharjah, Karachi. The flights which were diverted to Islamabad due to inclement weather in Lahore were from arriving from Karachi, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah. Flights from Lahore to Salala and Dammam, as well as one from Karachi to Lahore were delayed.

Airline operations were also affected on other days of January. Flights from Abu Dhabi, to Karachi, from Istanbul, from Sharjah, from Karachi, to Doha and to Istanbul were delayed. A flight to Karachi was cancelled. The railway operation was also delayed due to fog and rains. Maintenance work in some areas also caused delay in the train service. On January 6, trains were delayed for up to 11 hours due to continuous rains in Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

The Pak Business Express was delayed by 11 hours, Karachi Express 10 hours, Shah Hussain Express eight, Green Line Express six, Khyber Mail Express six, Sir Syed Express five and a half, Pakistan Express five, Awam Express five, Karakoram Express four, Allama Iqbal Express four and Farid Express four and a half hours. The Millat Express, Jaffar Express, Tezgam and Rehman Baba Express were also delayed. Sources said that several trains travelling between Lahore and Karachi, including Karachi, Awam and Jaffer Express were cancelled or merged on one occasion.

The passengers of two trains were sent in one. Passengers were also refunded their tickets for delayed and cancelled trains, due to which the railways suffered a loss of million of rupees during the month. The uncertainty also resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of railway passengers on routine days. On several days, trains were delayed by up to six hours due to track maintenance and inclement weather. Similarly, motorways remained closed for 372 hours during the month at various interchanges due to heavy fog.

The affected motorway sections were opened only after the weather improved. An airline official said financial losses had to be borne and the cost of operation increased during the season of fog. A railway official said the train operation had to be carried out cautiously due to increasing fog in the plains and maintenance work on the tracks. A large number of passengers had sought refund of fare , the official added.