Theft incidents in Pakistan Railways have reached alarming levels, with moving trains, stationary carriages and even sophisticated computer-based signaling systems falling prey to criminals, insiders revealed on Wednesday.
Despite lofty claims by the new railways minister, both the Railway Police and the administrative machinery appear to be in a deep slumber, unable to contain the growing wave of crimes potentially paralyzing railway operations.
The sources said that the state of affairs continues to deteriorate as investigations reveal that not only were passengers being drugged and robbed aboard moving trains, but specialised copper wiring and other key assets were being stolen mid-journey.
"PR transports nearly 50 million passengers each year and carries thousands of tons of freight from Karachi to remote parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, security measures across the network are severely lacking," they said.
Daily thefts of valuable materials from various trains, railway stations and installations, including Lahore, have become disturbingly routine.
Just last week, valuable cargo was reported stolen from loaded wagons parked at the Pattoki station. The 56 wagons had been en route from Karachi to Lahore and were stationary at Pattoki for a few hours when thieves struck.
As a result, the wagons, stripped of their equipment, were rendered non-operational and had to be filled with replacement materials before being dispatched again.
Similarly, at the old railway shed, key components such as power leads and jacks were stolen. Moreover, the computer-based interlocking system was not spared, with thieves digging underground to extract its crucial parts.
In another incident, electrical wires from the old diesel shed were stolen.
PR sources said the situation was dire, warning that repeated and increasing thefts of underground CBI components pose a serious threat to the integrity of the system. They further cautioned that maintaining the infrastructure has become exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, due to the breaches.
Meanwhile, in light of the deteriorating situation, railway authorities have urgently called upon the Railway Police to implement immediate and strict measures to safeguard this critical infrastructure.
In a bid to address the crisis, Inspector General of Railways Police Rao Tahir convened an emergency meeting to discuss strategies for curbing material theft.
During the session, the issue of timely uniform distribution and budget allocations was also discussed.
The IG instructed all SPs to focus specifically on preventing thefts of railway materials, especially signal equipment, which has been repeatedly targeted.
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