Railways outsourcing plan goes off rail

Pakistan Railways' plan to outsource passenger trains to the private sector has hit a snag after the government decided that such operations will now be awarded only through open auctions.

The railways had earlier invited bids to outsource 11 trains, receiving financial offers for nine of them amounting to Rs7.9 billion. The process included both technical and financial bids, with private companies showing keen interest in running the services.

According to details, the highest offers included Rs2.62 billion for Hazara Express, Rs2.60 billion for Millat Express, Rs640 million for Subak Kharam, Rs690 million for Rawal Express, Rs240 million for Badr Express, Rs250 million for Ghauri Express, Rs600 million for Thal Express, Rs86.5 million for Faiz Ahmad Faiz Passenger Train and Rs161.2 million for Ravi Express.

However, no financial bids were submitted for Bahauddin Zakariya Express and Mohenjo Daro Express.

The final approval of the contracts was pending when a meeting chaired by Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi decided that outsourcing of all passenger trains, including those in the latest round, would be done through open auctions instead.

The move has effectively stalled the earlier outsourcing process.