Pakistan Railways to recuperate losses via ‘own resources’

Permission sought from SC to utilise railway land for commercial purposes

LAHORE:

Pakistan Railways has decided to recuperate losses it incurred due to previous mismanagement and the recent floods through its own resources, said Railways Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique.

“We have estimated a Rs525 billion loss to Pakistan Railways during the recent floods, which has almost stagnated routine life in Sindh and Balochistan,” Rafique said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Railways infrastructure, including tracks and bridges, were destroyed during the floods in Sindh and Balochistan. Railway services were also suspended for weeks which further dented its revenue stream.

“We incurred a loss of millions of rupees on a daily basis due to a halt in train operations. We have just restarted our operations and are hopeful to expand with each passing day,” the minister added.

While the management looked for ways to reduce deficit and adjust for inflationary pressures, the recent floods added an additional burden of loss on the cash-strapped railway.

“The surge in dollar prices in the recent months has disturbed the balance of payments. Apart from exchange rate fluctuations, the increase in diesel prices is likely to add to our oil bill. The railways’ oil bill for the year 2021-22 was Rs20 billion and if oil prices do not come down, then we are expecting the bill to hit nearly Rs36 billion this fiscal year,” forewarned Rafique. He added that when he took charge as railway minister a few months back, the corporation’s deficit was hitting Rs47.5 billion with a revenue stream of Rs60 billion.

“Considering all such things, the ongoing inflationary pressure is not bearable,” he said. “Another dangerous situation for us is the backlog of payments. We have just cleared the payments of retired personnel for the year 2020-21 and have now moved onto the year 2021-22,” added the minister.

“One possible way for us is to ask for money from the federal government but, unfortunately, they are also facing a tight fiscal situation and we do not want them to take another loan and pass it on to railways,” Rafique underscored.

“What we have decided is to fight and try recovering through our own resources. This is not an easy task, as we are facing a dangerous situation but we will start with cost-cutting measures and will try to increase our revenue,” the minister added.

The management has just increased rail fares to cover some of these losses. The minister said that we will try to put less burden on economy class passengers.

While increasing fares could help the corporation generate revenue, the minister hopes to utilise the railway land for commercial purposes. For this purpose, he is seeking permission from the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan. “Railways has over 1,75,000 acres of land which is its most precious asset,” Rafique noted.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2022.

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